Donated Organs Face Transport Challenges

While intra-city movement of donated organs has now become an accepted fact, moving them by air is not only an expensive proposition but also time consuming.

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry has been approached by regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ask domestic carriers to help speed up the process of flying out donated organs. Moving donated organs in the country has not only been a time-consuming process – often defeating the very purpose of the donation – but also an expensive one. Moving donated organs from one city to another have been few and far between though intra-city movements have been done with the police creating a “green corridor” amidst the maddening traffic.

Air transportation of donated organs is common in developed countries but in India with carriers in the private sector, transferring organs from one city to another is expensive though the most reliable. Adding to the problems are delays in transportation – simply because the donated organs are not provided the priority they deserve. As a result, they are not delivered on time and, therefore, wasted.