A heart harvested from a brain-dead teenager in Jaipur was flown to Delhi airport and then in just 17 minutes sent to a private hospital here for a transplant surgery through a nearly 18-km green corridor set up amid the festive season rush. The recipient was a 45-year-old man from Meerut, admitted at Max Hospital in south Delhi, while the donor was a 16-year-old boy who had met with a road accident recently, hospital authorities said on Thursday.

"The harvested heart was flown to Delhi by a chartered flight. It landed at Terminal three of the Delhi airport at 7.50 pm Wednesday. From there, a green corridor was created to take the organ to the hospital during heavy traffic hours owing to the festive season," a hospital spokesperson said. A hospital ambulance waiting at the airport, speedily transported the heart through the 18.3-km green corridor in just 17 minutes, he added.