Mangaluru: The liver of 21-year-old brain dead boy-Vineeth Raj, retrieved from AJ Institute of Medical Sciences in Mangaluru was flown to Bengaluru and was zipped on a green corridor to Manipal Hospitals.

However, as the patient who was to undergo transplant took ill, it was later taken to Apollo Hospitals where another patient with liver complications got a new lease of life.

In any case, Vineet Raj has given a new lease of life to someone. A 50-year-old man suffering from Cryptogenic Liver Disease and liver cancer, who has been awaiting transplant for the past six months can never forget what Vineet Raj has given him.

Surgeons at Apollo Hospitals Bengaluru has a hectic schedule on Thursday after being alerted at the last minute about the availability of a donor liver.

Hospitals get alerts about 10 hours ahead of the transplant to plan the procedure, but that was not the case at Apollo Hospitals on Bannerghatta Road. On Thursday, since the actual patient was ill, Apollo Hospitals got last minute alert on the availability of a donor liver for transplant.

Dr Mahesh Gopasetty, transplant surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, said they were alerted about the donor liver at 7.30 am.

“We quickly activated our system to see if we had a suitable recipient. We had one, and he was called in at 8 am. Since he hails from Salem, we arranged an ambulance for him from Krishnagiri to ensure that he reaches in time. Ideally, the liver should be transplanted within eight to ten hours. “The procedure was over in nine hours,” Dr Gopasetty is quoted in Deccan Herald.