Kochi: A kidney was airlifted on a commercial airline for the first time in the state for transplantation on a 27 year old from Parassala on Thursday, NDTV reported.
This the first time an organ is transported on a commercial flight. The kidney was flown from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, K-SOTTO officials said.
The kidney of a deceased teenager
was taken to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College on an IndiGo Airlines flight for transplantation.
The donor had died after falling from a school building in Payyavoor in Kannur district.
The Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO)
coordinated the transport.
K-SOTTO oversees organ transplantation in the state.
K-SOTTO executive director Dr Noble Gracious S S told reporters that “The major challenge was transporting the kidney to Thiruvananthapuram in a time-bound manner…,” he said.
K-SOTTO then approached IndiGo Airlines which provided seats.
“This is the first time an organ has been transported on a commercial flight in the state,” he said.
Usually, Navy aircraft, government-hired helicopters, and vehicles are used to transport organs as part of the transplantation procedure.
Commercial aircraft’s first organ airlift
