Bhopal, Feb 11 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday announced that people, who will donate organs before death to give a new lease of life to others, will give state honour during their last rites.

The Chief Minister said the bodies and organs of the deceased persons will be transported through air ambulance service with the consent of the family members and a provision will be made to facilitate them with a posthumous award on national festivals.

Chief Minister Yadav made this announcement after meeting with a patient, who got a new lease of life after a successful heart transplant was performed at AIIMS Bhopal on January 26.

The heart was procured from a 61-year-old brain-dead patient at NSCB Medical College in Jabalpur and transplanted into a 53-year-old patient from Itarsi.

It was the first heart transplant case at AIIMS Bhopal.

The donated heart was airlifted from Jabalpur to Bhopal's Raja Bhoj airport and then it was transported to AIIMS Bhopal through a 'green corridor' established by the state police.

After meeting with Dinesh Malviya (who received a donated heart), the Chief Minister held a meeting with AIIMS Bhopal director Ajay Singh and reviewed the health facilities being provided to the patients at the state's premier health institution.

Later, during an interaction with media persons, Chief Minister Yadav said the state government will prepare a new guideline to encourage people to donate body and organs.

"Under the new policy, the government will establish a state-level institution to encourage people to body and organ donation. We will give state honour to the donors during their last rites. The government will also make a provision to give posthumous awards to them for giving a new lease of life to others," the Chief Minister said.

He added that the air ambulance service launched last year is ensuring the shifts of critical patients from one city to another in a very short period.

In areas where airstrips are not available, helicopter services are being provided for airlifting critical patients.

/IANS