Kerala achieves first as kidney is transported on commercial flight for transplant

In a first for Kerala, a human organ was transported on a commercial airline for a transplantation procedure, marking a major milestone in the state’s organ donation system. A kidney was flown from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday for a time-sensitive transplant, officials said.

The kidney belonged to Ayona Monson, a 17-year-old girl who died after falling from a school building in Payyavoor in Kannur district. Following consent for organ donation, one kidney was allocated to a 27-year-old woman from Parasala and transported to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for transplantation.

The operation was coordinated by the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, which oversees organ transplantation in the state. Officials said the allocation was finalised late Wednesday night, leaving limited time to move the organ safely and within the required preservation window.

With technical issues preventing the use of a helicopter, the organisation approached a commercial airline. The airline arranged seats, and an organ transplant coordinator volunteered to personally carry the kidney, making it the first instance of an organ being transported on a commercial flight in Kerala.

The organ retrieval procedure began in the early hours at a hospital in Kannur and was completed by morning. Despite a stopover, arrangements ensured the organ remained on the same aircraft and was safely secured in the cabin. After landing in Thiruvananthapuram, the kidney was transported by ambulance to the medical college, while other organs were transplanted or sent to hospitals in Kozhikode.