A man who had been on the waiting list for a kidney transplant for nine years received notification on Saturday (23) that a compatible organ had finally appeared.
The problem is that, at that moment, he was walking a trail through the Serra dos Órgãos National Park, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, at an altitude of more than 2,200 meters.
The descent through a difficult-to-access region and the journey to Santa Casa de Juiz de Fora (MG), where the kidney was waiting, could take too long and make the transplant unfeasible. Until the Rio Fire Department (CBMERJ) showed up.
“A race against time began there. The patient was in a remote area and needed to reach the hospital within a maximum of three hours. It wouldn’t be possible to return on foot”, explains Colonel Leandro Monteiro, who is Secretary of State for Civil Defense and general commander of CBMERJ.
“As soon as we were called in support, we mobilized all efforts to accomplish the mission. Around 10 soldiers and two aircraft were involved in the rescue,” he says.
See the moment of rescue:
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The weather conditions at 7,500 feet above sea level, in a very windy region, made the rescue operation with the helicopter difficult, but in the end everything went well. The patient, Ricardo Medeiros de Oliveira, aged 48, was removed from the Pedra do Sino trail, which is between Petrópolis and Teresópolis, and taken to Juiz de Fora in less than two hours. The transplant was performed and Oliveira is recovering from surgery.
“It was a challenging action due to the unstable weather conditions in the region and the location of the victim, but we were determined, as always, to do the impossible, with all our dedication, to overcome the obstacles in favor of life”, declared Colonel Rachel Lopes , commander of the CBMERJ Air Operations Group.
Who can donate organs
There is no type of bureaucracy for people who wish to be organ donors. The donation must be consented, but it is no longer necessary to include the information in any document or register it with a notary; just communicate this desire to the family.
In the case of deceased people who have not made prior communication, authorization for donation must be given by family members with up to the 2nd degree of kinship.
Donated organs are sent to patients who need a transplant and are on a waiting list. The list is unique, organized by State or region, and monitored by the National Transplant System (SNT).
Despite this, it is important to highlight that chronological order is not the only tie-breaking criterion for the waiting list. The severity of the patient’s situation (if there is a risk of imminent death), the compatibility between donor and recipient (blood type, weight and height) and also the location (donor and recipient need to be a maximum of four hours apart) are also considered .
See also: Expert explains transplant queue
Source: CNN Brasil
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