2024-07-06 07:57:28
As reported by the Lithuanian army, at the request of the National Transplantation Office, the KOP transport aircraft L-410 of the Lithuanian army was used.
Around 12:00 p.m. he took off from the Šiauliai Air Base and after stopping at the Vilnius airport flew to Krakow in Poland together with the medical team.
The team of doctors together with the collected donor organ around 9:30 p.m. landed in Vilnius. After the successful completion of the task, the KOP aircraft will return to its deployment location in Šiauliai.
On the eve of State Day, a donor organ flown from Poland will give hope to the recipient in Lithuania to recover and live a quality life
The National Transplantation Office at the Ministry of Health reports on the priceless cargo that has arrived in Lithuania. July 5 at 9 p.m. 30 minutes KOP plane L-410 of the Air Force of the Lithuanian Armed Forces landed at the Vilnius airport. An aircraft with a team of NTB coordinators took off from Vilnius airport and brought back a donor organ from Krakow (Poland), which will give the recipient in Lithuania hope for recovery.
According to the director of NTB, there are often cases when foreign partners cannot find a suitable recipient within their country for whom a donor organ would be suitable.
“In such cases, the loved ones’ “yes” to organ donation is respected and the priceless gift goes to other EU countries where there is a suitable recipient. This is already the second donor organ this year, which, after not finding suitable recipients in Poland, arrives for Lithuanian recipients. I thank my colleagues in Poland from the transplant organization and coordination center “Poltransplant” for their cooperation in coordinating the process and the doctors for their help in explanting the organ and handing it over to the NTB coordinators. Sincere condolences and thanks to the relatives of the deceased Donor. There can be nothing nobler than to save the lives of those who are seriously ill after losing a loved one.”
While hundreds of donor organs are waiting in Lithuania, NTB is also looking for them on the foreign international donor organ exchange platform FOEDUS, which hosts offers or requests for donor organs. “If the organ meets the set criteria and is suitable for the waiting recipient in Lithuania, then the only real possibility to bring it back to Lithuania is air transport,” says NTB head A. Būziuvienė.
In the donation and transplant process, every minute is precious – donor organs have a very limited time to be transplanted into their waiting recipients. If it is necessary to overcome the distance as quickly as possible, the Lithuanian Air Force (KOP) or the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) are happy to help transplant doctors. Flights ensure not only faster but also safer delivery of the donor organ.
NTB renewed the cooperation agreement with KOP last year, according to which the geography of flights was expanded. From 2023, KOP can help fly donor organs not only from Latvia, but also from further European countries. Among them: Poland, Germany or the Czech Republic.
Last year alone, thanks to the international exchange of donor organs, 7 recipients received hope to live and recover in Lithuania. 3 donor kidneys and 3 livers were brought from Latvia. One pair of kidneys arrived from Poland. During this year, thanks to the exchange of donor organs, 2 donor organs were received from Poland.
2024-07-06 07:57:28