Who delivers donated organs?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in ICU.

Okay, I know that the surgeons do the actual delivering to the O.R., but who drives them to and from the airport? I've heard some of the surgeons tell exciting and harrowing stories of their driver going the wrong way on the street and such. Is it ambulances? Police? Call a friend: "Hey Mario, jump in your Ferrari, we're going for a heart now!" :confused:

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I've had a taxi driver deliver the cooler.

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Specializes in ICU.
I've had a taxi driver deliver the cooler.

For which organ?

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

No transplant hospitals in my town, so the surgeons fly in from Dallas in a small private plane to harvest. They either rent a car or take cab from airport. Afterwards, they return the same way. The surgeons have the organs and they, along with the coordinator, are talking to the second set of surgeons in Dallas who are removing sick organs from the recipient. The whole process requires many people and a lot of coordination (not to mention cooperation from the weather). I assume if organs are going elsewhere the process is similiar.

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Specializes in ICU.

"Hey buddy, we've got a heart here for transplant, so STEP ON IT!"

A taxicab? Really? :confused:

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

yep, really. Cops are not allowed to speed either and this is a smallish town (about 75,000) so no need to get drastic. We have a heli-pad, but the coordinator tells me that is rarely used for this purpose.

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Fed Ex...when you absolutly have to have your kidney by 9 am...

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I've never heard of any of organs being delivered with a police escort. Somehow, I think that's only in the media.

Although, I did hear of one doctor who drove an organ across town from one hospital to the other because it was on his way home.

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when i went on donor runs we always flew in, got picked up by an ambulance, and taken back in one to the plane, then another back to the hospital for implant. but that was when we did the whole donor, instability and oozing grey matter and aramine and all. when we got to use coolers, the ambulance guys still did the pickups and deliveries. more reliable, and billable to the account besides.

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Dominoes Pizza....30 minutes, or it's free :D

(yes, I know they stopped the 30 minute guarantee a while back :))

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Specializes in Neuro ICU.

Oooh I just had my last day of orientation this weekend & got to see a organ harvesting surgery- it was so awesome!! Anyways, this topic was brought up by some of the docs- we had the heart team fly in via private jet, and the other teams say they usually go via ambulance with lights, and sometimes the donor services company drives (fast).

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Specializes in ICU, ER, EP,.

When I worked heart transplant, the heart never left the surgeons hands (or cooler) after he harvested it. They travel in copters, ground support and yes even a cab depending on the weather. Usually our life support air/ground transport picked him and the harvested organ up. If they were all away on calls, we've once had security drive to the airport to pick him up.

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