You may think that a good logistic system is always important for the success of a company. But a good structured logistic plan can achieve more than just gain profits, it can save life!
In 2015, worldwide more than 126.670 human organs were transplanted to save a person’s life.
The most transplanted organs are kidneys, livers and hearts.
Sometimes the fresh human organs must travel across national borders. The time factor is hereby the most important aspect. If the logistic plan is not perfectly structured or complications occur during the carrying, the organ can get useless.
The most common process of organ transplantation starts with the brain death of the donor. After that, the doctors do everything to keep the organs alive.
https://www.interroll.de/blog/organtransplantationen-leben-und-logistik/
Organizations like the Deutsche Stiftung Organtransplantation in Germany and the Organización Nacional de Trasplantes in Spain support the doctors during the whole process. These organizations determine the respective recipient of the organ, organize the transportation process and coordinate the collaboration between the implantation centers.
After all necessary medical checks and after the respective recipient for the organ is found, the organ will be removed from the donor’s body and will be cleaned with a conservation fluid. Thereafter, the organ will be packed in a sterile bag and placed in a styropor box which is filled with ice. The life-saving organs will be delivered by car, plane, train or helicopter. 30 to 35 percent of all organs will be delivered through air transportation.
The kind of transportation depends on the corresponding distance to the implantation center and the duration the organ can survive without being supplied with blood. A human heart can still be useful until 4 hours without blood circulation and a kidney until 24 hours.
During the transport, the styropor box will have a temperature of 4 Degree Celsius to guarantee a good condition for the conservation of the organ.
The whole process can cost up to 16.000€.
Once reached the destination point, the organ will be handed over to a responsible person from the implantation center.
The blog of Logistics at MGEPS at UPV 