A seven-year-old boy, in imminent danger of his life, traveled aboard the Air Force aircraft inside an ambulance assisted by a team of the "Bambino Gesù": he will be treated thanks to a cooperation program between the Center national transplants of Italy and Greece
The emergency medical transport of a seven-year-old boy from Athens to Ciampino, carried out with an Air Force C19J aircraft, ended at 14:130 today.
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The little patient, of Greek nationality, in imminent danger of life due to very serious heart disease, needed to be transferred urgently to the "Bambino Gesù" pediatric hospital in Rome. Specifically, due to the type of transport it was necessary to use a C-130J of the 46th Pisa Air Brigade, an aircraft suitable for embarking the ambulance in which the child traveled, monitored and assisted in circulation extracorporeal (ECMO) by a medical team composed of nurses, resuscitators and heart surgeons.
The life-saving flight was activated, at the request of the Greek Embassy in Rome, by the Aerospace Operations Command (COA) of the Air Force which immediately involved the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, one of the Departments that carries out the operational readiness service for this kind of mission. The child will be treated thanks to a cooperation program between the National Transplant Center and the corresponding Greek competent authority, the Hellenic Transplant Organization: according to the agreement, operational since 2005, the most urgent Greek patients, especially pediatric patients, can be transplanted in our country, while donor organs not used in Greece can be destined for Italian patients waiting for a transplant.
Once all the necessary procedures were carried out by the military crew, the aircraft, which took off from Pisa airport, first headed for Ciampino from where it then took off for Athens, around 11 this morning. Here the little one, aboard the ambulance, was immediately embarked on the aircraft for emergency transport. After landing at Ciampino Airport, which took place shortly after 19 pm, the ambulance headed to the "Bambino Gesù" pediatric hospital in Rome for subsequent hospitalization pending a transplant.
The Flight Departments of the Air Force are available to the community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with vehicles and crews capable of operating even in complex weather conditions, to ensure the urgent transport not only of people in imminent danger of life, but also of organs, medical teams or ambulances.
Hundreds of flight hours are carried out every year for this type of intervention by the aircraft of the 31st Wing of Ciampino, the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare, the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa and the helicopters of the 15th Wing of Cervia.