Organ Saved From Burning Wreckage, Transplanted Successfully

There's a remarkable story out of the UK about a GA aircraft that crashed during a landing attempt in fog at Birmingham Airport, and while only two pilots were on board, three lives were saved by first responders.

Wales Online reports the plane was carrying a donated liver for immediate transplant into a patient at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. The Cessna Citation 501 (similar to aircraft pictured) reportedly struck a 50-foot-high antenna structure and caught fire after it came down in grass near the runway, in fog so thick firemen at first couldn't find the crash scene.

The co-pilot was reportedly able to escape the burning plane, but the 58-year-old pilot was seriously injured, had his right foot pinned, and had the presence of mind to use a fire extinguisher to keep the flames at bay, and continued breathing using an oxygen mask. He eventually was able to free himself and crawl to where rescuers could reach him.

And the liver? It was retrieved and rushed to the hospital, where the recipient was waiting in what officials termed "super urgent" condition. Simon Bramhall, a consultant liver transplant surgeon at the hospital, told Wales Online, "Patients on this list only have a matter of days to survive, so in this particular instance it was crucially important that the donor liver was used and has functioned successfully."

FMI: Original Story