Flying organs for transplant
Shanghai's Ruijin Hospital used a helicopter to carry donated organs to a receiver in Hefei, Anhui Province, for transplant on Friday afternoon to save time, the hospital said.
It's the country's first trans-provincial organ transport by a helicopter.
According to the hospital, the donor is a 49-year-old man who was diagnosed as brain death after suffering a hemorrhage of brain stem caused by high blood pressure. His family decide to donate part of his organs, which need to be transplanted into the receiver's body as soon as possible.
The hospital decided to deliver the organs by helicopter to save time.
Chen Erzhen, deputy head of the hospital, said aeromedicine is a good way to help completing an organ donation. The air transport can guarantee the organs be sent to the receiver in time for the transplant. It can save the time of blood transfusion and raise the success rate of the transplant.
Ruijin Hospital is the city's only hospital which can provide aeromedical services and this is its 11th helicopter transport. It took only five hours from filing an application to the helicopter's taking off.