In a first-of-its-kind initiative in Tamil Nadu, the Chennai Metro Rail transformed into a green corridor on Saturday (November 8, 2025) to swiftly transport a pair of lungs for transplantation. Reported by The Hindu.
The organs, harvested from a deceased donor in Bengaluru, were delivered to Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road, within just 21 minutes.
Covering a distance of 10.82 km across seven stations, the lungs were carried from Meenambakkam Metro Station to AG-DMS Metro Station, marking a milestone in urban medical logistics.
According to airport sources, both a pair of lungs and a heart arrived in Chennai via air ambulance from Bengaluru around 1:52 p.m..
A six-member medical team then used the VIP gate at Meenambakkam to swiftly move the lungs to the metro station, boarding the train at 2:07 p.m. and reaching AG-DMS by 2:28 p.m. The organs were then rushed by ambulance to Apollo Hospitals.
At the same time, a separate green corridor was created on the road to transport the donor heart to MGM Healthcare, ensuring two simultaneous organ deliveries without delay.
Officials from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) said they worked closely with hospital teams to ensure smooth coordination.
“The team travelled with the organs along with other passengers. As it was a weekend, the train was relatively empty, which made the process seamless,” a CMRL staff member said.
While this was Chennai’s first metro-assisted organ transport, similar efforts have been seen in other cities.
The Hyderabad Metro created history in 2021, moving a heart from Nagole to Jubilee Hills in under 30 minutes. Earlier this year, it repeated the feat by transporting another heart from LB Nagar to Lakdikapul in just 13 minutes.
This remarkable step by Chennai Metro highlights how public transport networks can play a life-saving role in medical emergencies — turning city infrastructure into a vital link for organ donation and transplantation.
Seven months later, in August, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation transported a liver for transplant from Vydehi Hospital in Whitefield to Sparsh Hospital in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, covering 31 km within an hour.
Once again in September, BMRC facilitated the shifting of a heart from Yeshwanthpur to South End Circle Metro in 20 minutes.
It is to be noted that in 2023 the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs made an amendment to the Metro Railways (Carriage and Ticket) Rules, 2014.
The rule said: “Provided that a person is duly authorised in this behalf by a hospital registered under the Transplantation of Purpose Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, may take along, human organs or tissue or both, for the purpose of organ or tissue transplantation.”