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Flight transports life-saving drug from Ahmedabad

 
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PlaneLover
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:09 pm    Post subject: Flight transports life-saving drug from Ahmedabad Reply with quote

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/flight-transports-lifesaving-drug-from-ahmedabad/article6524361.ece?homepage=true



NovoSeven, the drug that is used to stop bleeding, was needed urgently for a patient at Apollo Hospitals

A life-saving drug was flown out of Ahmedabad to Chennai on Tuesday night via an Air Costa flight, whose crew volunteered to carry it.

The drug, NovoSeven, is used to stop bleeding, and was needed urgently for a patient at Apollo Hospitals who had undergone a multi-visceral transplant earlier this year.

According to Anand Khakhar, director of the liver and muti-visceral transplant programme at the hospital, the patient, Thalaimalai, a resident of Chennai, had undergone a liver, pancreas and intestine transplant in June.

“On Monday, the patient had come in for a procedural biopsy — a routine test to check if the new intestine was being accepted by the body. During this, the delicate inner layer of the intestine was pierced and he started to bleed. We tried everything to stop the bleeding but as we couldn’t, we needed the drug. For some reason, it was not available in Chennai,” he said.

The hospital contacted the drug manufacturer who said stocks were available in Ahmedabad. Since the drug was urgently needed, the only way to get it was by flight. An Air Costa flight was flying out of Ahmedabad at 9.10 p.m. Its crew volunteered to take the three vials, weighing a total of 150 grams, and bring them to the city. The flight was expected to land at 11.30 p.m., said Ashok Sanmarkan, station manager, Ahmedabad.


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How often does this happen? I am assuming that this may be more common than we think. Kudos to Air Costa flight crew for helping save a life.

The big pharmaceutical companies should have a system to constantly monitor supplies of life saving drugs and move them around the country as needed. Some drugs ( not necessarily this ) may be exorbitant in price and one understands that not all regions will have the same level of consumption. But we probably should have 15 to 20 centers in the country to store such drugs which should be transportable by road within a matter of a few hours.
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The_Goat
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Airlines and their crews are known to help in such ways. It is not unusual.

I remember that a few years ago there was a diptheria epidemic in Nepal and the vaccines were available only in India. In response to a request by the Nepalese government, Indian pharma companies provided the vaccines for free. AI and 9W shipped the vial boxes to Kathmandu, also for free.

Also, during the devastating tsunami in 2005, AI and 9W flew evacuees from the Andaman Islands to the mainland for free.

During an earlier cyclone in Orissa and Coastal Andhra in the early 2000s, Blue Dart, along with AI and 9W flew relief supplies to Bhuvaneshwar and Vizag.

There are numerous such examples.

Coming back to this incident, I am shocked that the drug was not available anywhere in a healthcare and hospital hub like Chennai!
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:49 am    Post subject: Re: Flight transports life-saving drug from Ahmedabad Reply with quote

PlaneLover wrote:
How often does this happen? I am assuming that this may be more common than we think. Kudos to Air Costa flight crew for helping save a life.


Something similar happened recently when a heart transplant patient was flown from BLR to MAA in 2 hours - hospital bed to hospital bed thanks to a 'green corridor' or some such that facilitates speedy transportation, having ambulances use traffic free lanes to get to the destination.
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The_Goat
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:03 pm    Post subject: Re: Flight transports life-saving drug from Ahmedabad Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:

Something similar happened recently when a heart transplant patient was flown from BLR to MAA in 2 hours - hospital bed to hospital bed thanks to a 'green corridor' or some such that facilitates speedy transportation, having ambulances use traffic free lanes to get to the destination.


There are special, traffic free lanes for ambulances in India???

and these lanes are not misused by freeloaders, lorries and rich morons with fast cars looking for cheap thrills??

Are you sure, Spiderguy???

This is the news of the millenia, if true.
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Spiderguy252
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Flight transports life-saving drug from Ahmedabad Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
Spiderguy252 wrote:

Something similar happened recently when a heart transplant patient was flown from BLR to MAA in 2 hours - hospital bed to hospital bed thanks to a 'green corridor' or some such that facilitates speedy transportation, having ambulances use traffic free lanes to get to the destination.


There are special, traffic free lanes for ambulances in India???

and these lanes are not misused by freeloaders, lorries and rich morons with fast cars looking for cheap thrills??

Are you sure, Spiderguy???

This is the news of the millenia, if true.


Well - here's the article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Bangalore-Chennai-join-forces-for-inter-state-heart-transplant/articleshow/41648762.cms

It appears those lanes are freed only for an emergency like the above.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 6:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Flight transports life-saving drug from Ahmedabad Reply with quote

Spiderguy252 wrote:
Well - here's the article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Bangalore-Chennai-join-forces-for-inter-state-heart-transplant/articleshow/41648762.cms
It appears those lanes are freed only for an emergency like the above.
Thanks to Varun for pointing this out. When I had been to Chennai this year (25-26 June, 2014), I had discussed this with many people in Chennai, in amazement. This made it to the front page of newspapers all across the country. Such a green corridor can perhaps work only in a place full of cultured and understanding people, such as Chennai. Amazing gesture which involved people across many disciplines, including the common man on the street.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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