Medics Drop Donor Heart

1. 5 second rule, it's all good people!

2. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
 
Sounds like they still used the heart. Whats the saying? No Harm No Foul.
 
You can blow off the germs, little blow little brush with ungloved hand
 
Bah, just spit on it and then wipe off the dirt...it's how I prep to start an IV.:rofl:

As an aside, not a huge deal; the heart was still wrapped up, just briefly came out of the cooler and wasn't dropped from any particularly large height. Poor form, but not a major issue.

Unless you happen to be a member of the public...
 
Who's post says 'If you drop the baby fake a seizure'? Does that count for hearts as well?
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3AQ5rTqB8[/YOUTUBE]
 
Did it really take two of them to drag a cooler with a heart in it? Therein lies the problem...Mr.Helpful feeling the need to be part of something big, assisting with a cooler which any 4 year old can tug, while wanting to appear important and waving away the photographers instead stumbles and causes the lid to flip open....
 
Is it possible those are transplant surgeons, not medics? At least in my area, surgical teams generally travel with organs for transplant, and like to hold the boxes/coolers themselves.
We also require TWO EMTs in the ambulance during transport... not sure where it comes from, but we're told the vehicle cannot roll with L&S without two aboard, no matter the other staff (NICU, PICU, MedFlight, etc.)
 
emt.dan said:
We also require TWO EMTs in the ambulance during transport... not sure where it comes from, but we're told the vehicle cannot roll with L&S without two aboard, no matter the other staff (NICU, PICU, MedFlight, etc.)
Click to expand...

Do you mean two plus the driver?
 
Chimpie said:
Do you mean two plus the driver?
Click to expand...


I think he's trying to say you can't substitute an RN, MD, PA, etc for an EMT on a specialty or critical care transport. Since the minimum staffing is 2 EMTs, it's 2 EMTs plus any other required staff with one of the EMTs driving.
 
Old School

In the mid to late 80's, I was driving a cab, about a deacade before I got into EMS. I got a call to pick up a heart at a distant Level 3 facility. Donorcycle, kept patient on life support in OR until my arrival, removed and packaged heart in a Cryobox, strapped it in next to me, in the passenger seat, drove 3 hours to nearest major airport for a 3 hour flight. The only special treatment was a police escort in and out of donor town, and ignoring my 100+ mph on rural hwy...until a State cop popped me 15 miles from airport.
Got to Eastern Airlines, set the box on the counter, clearly mark " ^THIS SIDE UP^!". Counter agent tipped it on its side to read the manifest...DOH!!! :wacko:
 
My mental response to the thread title was "Slippery little devil!!".
 
Toyota Delivers Heart

I just watched an episode of Trauma: Life in the ER (can't remember the name of the epi), but kid died from MVA during his quick run from the police.

His family decided on organ donation and they transported it in the back of a Toyota truck. My first thought was 'damn, hope that truck doesn't shift position fast or the cooler is tipping over'.

VO
 
Maybe the Mexican photographers should have gotten the heck out of the way, then the medic wouldn't have had to stop short.
 
Those guys weren't medics, I watched the segment in spanish TV. Public safety staff if I remember correctly.
 
I still don't understand why you need medical training to transport an organ... They don't look like they are medics just from their clothing and hectic attitude but that's just my opinion.

Doesn't seem much more complicated than driving down the road with a cooler full of beer. You have to keep both cold as well as be gentle :P
 
NVRob said:
I still don't understand why you need medical training to transport an organ... They don't look like they are medics just from their clothing and hectic attitude but that's just my opinion.

Doesn't seem much more complicated than driving down the road with a cooler full of beer. You have to keep both cold as well as be gentle :P
Click to expand...
Around here, there are a couple of companies that will use marked, lighted EV's for transport of organs or transplant crews - My company uses ambulances, there is another with a couple of SUV's for this purpose. The issue isn't medical training, it's EVOC and a vehicle with lights.
 
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