Thiruvananthapuram | In a first for the state, a human organ was transported on a commercial airline as part of a transplantation procedure, with a kidney being flown from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, K-SOTTO officials said.
The kidney of Ayona Monson (17), who died after falling from a school building in Payyavoor in Kannur district, was transported to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College on an IndiGo Airlines flight.
The kidney will be transplanted to a 27-year-old woman from Parasala.
The Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO), which oversees organ transplantation in the state, coordinated the transport.
K-SOTTO executive director Dr Noble Gracious SS told reporters that one kidney was allocated to a patient in Thiruvananthapuram late on Wednesday night.
"The major challenge was transporting the kidney to Thiruvananthapuram in a time-bound manner. There were technical issues in using a helicopter for the purpose," he said.
He said K-SOTTO then approached IndiGo Airlines.
"The airline provided seats, and Dr Namitha, who recently joined Kannur Medical College as an organ transplant coordinator, volunteered to transport the organ. 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.
Dr Namitha said the organ retrieval procedure at Aster MIMS Hospital, Kannur, began around 2 am and was completed by 5 am.
"By 6 am, we reached the airport. All arrangements were smoothly handled by the hospital authorities and the airline," she said.
She said the flight from Kannur had a stopover at Kochi, but arrangements were made to continue the journey on the same aircraft to Thiruvananthapuram.
"The container carrying the organ was large, but the crew made arrangements to keep it safely in the cabin," she said.
The flight reached Thiruvananthapuram around 10.45 am, after which the organ was transported by ambulance to the Medical College.
K-SOTTO officials said the other kidney was transplanted at MIMS Hospital in Kozhikode.
The liver was shifted to Meitra Hospital, Kozhikode, while the corneas were sent to Kozhikode Government Medical College.
Monson had jumped from the third floor of the school building and suffered serious injuries to her head and lungs.
She succumbed to injuries at the hospital on Wednesday night.
Police are probing the circumstances surrounding the incident, officials said.
