Military Helicopter Flies Donor Organ to Kaunas

A Lithuanian military helicopter transported a donor organ and a transplant team to Kaunas on July 25th, marking another critical mission for the National Transplant Bureau. The MI-8 helicopter from the Lithuanian Air Force took off from a field near a Žemaitija hospital at 2:05 PM and landed at Aleksotas Airport an hour later. This operation is part of an exceptionally busy period for the bureau, which has facilitated 21 second chances at life for patients in the past two weeks alone.

The National Transplant Bureau emphasized that the transplantation process operates without holidays or weekends. The helicopter's mission ensured the timely arrival of the organ and the medical team. After successfully completing the task, the helicopter returned to Kaunas around 2:55 PM, dropping off the team and resuming its standby duties at the 2nd Search and Rescue Post.

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This invaluable gift will be transplanted at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Hospital Kaunas Clinics, paving a new bridge to life for a critically ill patient.

"This invaluable gift will be transplanted at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences Hospital Kaunas Clinics, paving a new bridge to life for a critically ill patient," the bureau stated in a release. The bureau also extended condolences to the donor's family, thanking them for saying "YES" to organ donation and expressing hope that the chance given to others will ease their pain.

As of July 25th, 309 patients are awaiting organ transplants in Lithuania, including 118 for kidneys, 73 for hearts, 3 for lungs, 3 for heart-lung complexes, 6 for pancreas-kidney complexes, and 106 for livers. Additionally, 480 patients are waiting for tissue and cell transplants, comprising 201 for corneas and 279 for hematopoietic stem cells, with 39 of these being children.

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YES