Case Log 02/12/2024

Case Log

Mission Profile:

Organ Type: Heart

Wheels Up: 1030EST

Scheduled OR time: 1230EST

Donor Location: Massachusetts

Recipient Location: Ohio

Aircraft Type: Lear 35

Activation:

We were originally activated for a 1000EST wheels up time the evening before, but the next morning they had bumped the OR to 1230EST, therefore the wheels up time was also bumped 30 minutes to 1030.

Flight #1

The TSA takes the spelling/abbreviations of names very literally. They don’t assume Joe is short for Joseph, or Matt is short for Matthew, or Brian is the same person as Bryan. This caused a slight delay for us in leaving, as we had to call TSA and get clearance for the full names of the team going on the flight. No big deal, we were just ready to get in the air

We flew to an airport in Rhode Island as it was the closest airport to the donor hospital in Massachusetts with services and a long enough runway for jets. Unfortunately for us, there was only one viable way to and from the donor hospital, and it happened to be under construction. This will come into play later.

The pilot flying today was a helicopter pilot turned fixed wing pilot. He was seated on the right side of the airplane which is the co-pilot side of the aircraft. I am assuming he was doing some on the job training, as his control of the plane was a little…shaky. Flight time: 71 minutes.

Donor Side:

Its always nice to be greeted by familiar faces when we arrive to a donor hospital. Our team had just worked with the abdominal team from our donor from South Carolina from CASE LOG 02/03/2024, and they recognized us right away. The transplant world is very small, especially with procuring teams.

The hospital staff was eager to see us, though they were a little nervous about the donor process as this was a small hospital and none of the staff assigned to our room had done an organ donor case before. One of our jobs as a procuring team is to educate room staff on the process and to calm any nerves. Organ procurement is a major surgery that is not a typical occurrence at most smaller hospitals. Room staff doesn’t always know what we need, when we need it, and our sometimes “weird” preferences. Read more on organ procurements on our page “What is an organ procurement?”

The procurement went smoothly with all teams getting along nicely. You’d be surprised at the number of arguments in some donor ORs, and they’re almost always over who needs more vessel length (to sew the organs back into their recipients). Since the body is a network of organs and blood vessels, a lot of organs share blood vessels with one another and each team needs to get their fair share. We always seem to work it out though!

Flight #2:

The flight to Ohio was just okay, some turbulence in the clouds, which is normal, but this paired with shaky flying can be disorienting. Your eyes, inner ears, and brain work together to process where your body is in relation to the earth, and when there is movement to the body that doesn’t correlate to what the eyes see, it can lead to headaches and nausea. This comes into play when we are in the clouds and the plane is moving in directions but you can’t see the horizon. Unless you’re paying close attention, you can become spatially disoriented very quickly. The landing was rough, and we landed on one wheel, then all of the wheels. “We’re coming in hot!”

Recipient Side:

This particular transplant center doesn’t require us to accompany the heart or lungs to the recipient hospital, allowing our trusted transportation company to take the organ in their SUVs that are outfitted with lights and sirens.

Flight #3

A quick splash of fuel (130 gallons of Jet A) to waive the ramp fee, an “espresso” from the FBO’s automated coffee machine, a quick stop in the restroom, and we were back in the air for the 25 minute flight to our home airport. Easy peasy.