Green corridor rushes brain-dead Kajal Rathod's organs from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A police-coordinated green corridor on 19 June enabled the swift transfer of organs harvested from Kajal Rathod, a 24-year-old brain-dead woman, from GMERS General Hospital in Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital for transplantation. The operation, made possible by her family's decision to donate her organs despite their grief, is being hailed as a model of coordination between healthcare institutions and law enforcement.
How the Green Corridor Was Set Up
Kajal Rathod had been undergoing treatment at GMERS General Hospital, Gandhinagar, where she was declared brain dead by doctors on Thursday, 19 June. Her family, in a display of extraordinary resolve, provided written consent for organ donation. Doctors identified her kidneys, pancreas, and liver as viable for transplantation — organs capable of giving multiple patients a renewed chance at life.
Given the narrow time window that governs organ viability, the GMERS hospital administration approached the Gandhinagar district police with a request to clear the route to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Senior officials promptly alerted police stations along the entire corridor spanning both cities.
Police and Medical Teams in Action
Officers from the Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad city police forces coordinated traffic management across every stretch of the route, ensuring uninterrupted passage for the ambulance. The vehicle reached Ahmedabad Civil Hospital within the stipulated time, and the organs were delivered directly to the operation theatre for further transplantation procedures.
Officials described the exercise as a demonstration of what close cooperation between healthcare institutions and law enforcement can achieve in time-critical medical emergencies. This is the kind of inter-agency coordination that organ donation advocacy groups have long called for across Indian cities.
Government Response and Tributes
Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi expressed sorrow over Kajal's death and extended condolences to her family. He described her passing as an 'untimely demise' and conveyed his 'heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.'
Sanghavi paid tribute to the family's decision, stating that 'despite facing an extremely difficult situation, they had shown humanity and taken a noble and courageous decision in the interest of society.' He also congratulated the medical staff involved in the retrieval process and commended the police teams from both cities for their 'exceptional coordination' in ensuring the organs were transported safely and on time.
Why This Matters
India faces a severe organ shortage, with demand far outstripping supply. Green corridors — temporary traffic clearances for organ transport ambulances — have emerged as a critical tool in bridging the gap between donor hospitals and transplant centres. Notably, the success of such operations depends entirely on real-time coordination between district administrations, police forces, and hospitals, a chain that can break at any point. The Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad operation on 19 June demonstrated that when the chain holds, lives can be saved. The organs retrieved from Kajal Rathod are expected to benefit multiple patients currently awaiting transplants.