The time it took to commute between the two cities was 217 minutes or 3 hours and 37 minutes. (Image: Railways)In a first for the cadaver organ transplantation programme in the country, the heart of a 36-year-old brain-dead individual was transported on a train on Friday.The organ was taken from Surat to the recipient in Ahmedabad via 20901 Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Capital Vande Bharat Express for transplantation at a prominent cardiac teaching hospital in Gujarat’s commercial capital, as per an official note. The time it took to commute between the two cities was 217 minutes or 3 hours and 37 minutes, the note added.The donor, one Mithun Lakshman Swain from Ganjam district of Odisha, worked in Kim, Surat. His family consented to donate the kidneys, liver and heart after he was declared brain-dead at New Civil Hospital (NCH) in Surat on Thursday, the hospital said.❤️ भारतीय रेल ने रचा इतिहास!पहली बार 20901 मुंबई सेंट्रल – गांधीनगर कैपिटल वंदे भारत एक्सप्रेस के माध्यम से सूरत से अहमदाबाद तक जीवित हृदय (Live Heart) का सफलतापूर्वक परिवहन किया गया। यह हृदय यू.एन. मेहता इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ कार्डियोलॉजी एंड रिसर्च सेंटर, अहमदाबाद में सफल हृदय… pic.twitter.com/BRZ0zSbaTo— DRM Ahmedabad (@drmadiwr) July 31, 2026A statement from the NCH said, “On July 28, Mithun was sitting on the floor of his room when his face started to droop and his left hand and leg stopped moving. He was taken to a local private hospital. As his condition deteriorated, he was referred to the Civil Hospital via 108 ambulance. He was moved to the ICU after being given primary treatment in the emergency department. On July 30, at 4:01 pm, a panel of RMO Dr. Ketan Nayak, Plastic Surgeon Dr. Nilesh Kachhdiya, neurologist Dr. Prayag Makwana and neurosurgeon Dr. Keyur Prajapati declared him brain-dead. After that, Iqbal Kadiwala, a volunteer of the Angadaan Charitable Trust, and counselor Nirmala Kathude explained the importance of organ donation to Swain’s wife and brother, who consented to donate them.”The organ was then sent to Ahmedabad on Friday morning.After it reached Ahmedabad, “a dedicated green corridor was created by the RPF and Gujarat police from Platform No. 1 of the Ahmedabad Railway Station to the U.N. Mehta Institute of Cardiology & Research Centre,” said a statement from the Indian Railways.Meanwhile, the kidneys and liver of the man were brought to Ahmedabad by road and transplanted into three recipients at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC).Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel wrote on microblogging platform X: “In organ transplantation, every second counts! This life-saving effort was made possible by transporting a live heart from Surat to Ahmedabad in just a few hours, leveraging the high speed of the Vande Bharat Express. Thanks to the extraordinary coordination between Indian Railways, the RPF, the Gujarat Police, and our medical teams, a successful heart transplant was performed at the U.N. Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in Ahmedabad, giving a person a new heartbeat.”सेवा का अनूठा उदाहरण! 變अंग प्रत्यारोपण में हर एक सेकंड कीमती होता है! सूरत से अहमदाबाद तक जीवित हृदय को वंदे भारत एक्सप्रेस की तीव्र गति से गिनती के घंटों में पहुँचाने के कारण ही यह जीवन रक्षक प्रयास संभव हो पाया।भारतीय रेल, RPF, गुजरात पुलिस और हमारी मेडिकल टीम्स के इस… https://t.co/nrwg5zK55Y— Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) July 31, 2026Ahmedabad Divisional Railway Manager Ved Prakash expressed pride over the feat.