Home » How This Australian State Gets Organs To Hospitals As Quickly As Possible

How This Australian State Gets Organs To Hospitals As Quickly As Possible

Australian Green Lights Hospital Ts
ADVERTISEMENT

Organ donations are a miracle of modern medicine, and they come with just as many logistical challenges as biological ones. Getting a donated organ to a patient is a time-critical endeavor, with positive outcomes dependent on quick delivery. Down in Australia, one state has shared how it gets organs from airport to hospital as quickly as humanly possible.

The challenge of timely organ delivery has been faced by authorities around the world. Italian police famously employed a Lamborghini Huracan to solve the problem, whipping kidneys across the countryside at rapid pace with the aid of searing V10 power. In contrast, Australia isn’t so blessed. It’s a nation without supercars of its own, and even the country’s famous V8s are no longer an option with the death of the local industry.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

Instead, local authorities use the road network itself to their advantage. When it comes to getting organs where they need to go, speed isn’t just about the drivers—it comes down to the control room wizards at Transport for New South Wales.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Transport for NSW (@transportfornsw)

It’s all about creating what’s called a “green light corridor,” and it’s pretty much as Hollywood as it sounds. If you’ve ever seen one of those action movies where the hackers create themselves a perfect no-stop route across town, this is exactly that.

ADVERTISEMENT

When transplant organs are scheduled for arrival in the state, Transport for NSW works to help ambulances and police escorts move the special cargo across Sydney as quickly as possible.  “When the transplant team notifies us an organ is arriving, we work to identify a route that will get them from the airport to the hospital fastest,” says Brendan, a senior traffic controller with Transport for NSW. “Depending on the time of day and traffic conditions, we find a route we can clear quickly and make sure the vehicle arrives to every set of lights to a green.”

Nsworgansyeah2
Transport controllers work to pre-plan routes for organ deliveries and then manually adjust them on the fly with respect to prevailing traffic conditions. Credit: Transport for NSW

“Traffic can change quickly, so we pay close attention to the conditions and adjust the route manually in real time,” says Brendan. “Doing this can reduce the time it takes to get to hospital and potentially help patients receive life-saving treatment faster.” Obviously, this can have some effects on the broader flow of traffic, but Brendan notes that drivers should be aware that there is good reason behind this. “If you find yourself stuck at a red light for slightly longer than usual, keep in mind that it might be to save a life,” he explains.

Similar techniques are used around the world to ensure organs show up on time to save patient’s lives. Last year, The Times of India covered a particularly successful case where four green corridors were established to ferry organs from two donors at speed, saving eight lives in the process.

Nsworgansyeah4
Organs are typically couriered by ambulances with lights flashing and police escorts to assist. Credit: Transport for NSW

It’s nice to dream of getting all green lights on one’s way home from work. Sadly, few of us have the kind of pull with our local Department of Transport to get such favorable treatment. As it stands, the powers are willing to flick the lights one way or the other, but only for these critical delivery missions when lives are on the line.

Image credits: Transport for NSW

ADVERTISEMENT
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on reddit
Reddit
Subscribe
Notify of
28 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Brandon Forbes
Brandon Forbes
1 hour ago

I would have thought they would just use helicopters or something to not have to deal with roads at all.

Bram Oude Elberink
Bram Oude Elberink
4 hours ago

As a child I saw a documentary about a organ transport into the city of London, during rush hour. There are actually two different documenturies which are on Youtube, it is called ‘The Liver Run’. It is from 1987, involves 2 police Rover SD’s and a lot of police force in the city on foot, on the motorbike and by car to block crossings. It is still incredibly exiting / nerve wrecking to watch.

The first is the full run filmed from the police cars.
https://youtu.be/JNi7uMEGmOs?feature=shared
The second one is the one I saw as a child, with a presentator explaining the whole ordeal and why the time was so limited.
https://youtu.be/ZnW-sTwxeUM?feature=shared

FlyingMonstera
FlyingMonstera
1 hour ago

This is amazing! With a Pontiac Trans Am appearing on the Embankment as a bonus. Makes me want a Rover Vitesse again…

Ford_Timelord
Ford_Timelord
7 hours ago

They have a special division with V8 Interceptors for limb replacements. Perfect for when your mate Kundalini wants his hand back.

RustyJunkyardClassicFanatic
RustyJunkyardClassicFanatic
10 hours ago

That’s cool! Yeah, I prefer pianos vs. organs…oh you’re talking about those kinds of organs, ha ha

Rebadged Asüna Sunrunner
Rebadged Asüna Sunrunner
11 hours ago

I’m ignorant as to the rationale for transporting organs quickly, and would love to be enlightened! Are these freshly “harvested” organs that need to be super quickly taken somewhere they can be preserved? Or are they being transported from storage somewhere to a hospital where a patient needs it extremely urgently?

Michael Beranek
Michael Beranek
13 hours ago

Aww, what a disappointment. After reading the headline, I envisioned a division of special cops with leather jackets, hopped-up Holdens or Fords with Barras, and perhaps Autogyros.
But no, the truth is so mundane and practical.
Joking aside, what an awesome use of remote sensing and control. Most American stoplights can’t do that.

Ford_Timelord
Ford_Timelord
7 hours ago

They have this for limb replacements like when Kundalini wants his hand back.

Michael Beranek
Michael Beranek
2 hours ago
Reply to  Ford_Timelord

Oh, thanks, now I have the Love and Rockets song in my head.

Dogpatch
Dogpatch
15 hours ago

If we had organs for transplant on the airplane the cooler rode in the cockpit with us and were the first thing off the plane ,We made the passengers wait a extra 1 minute while whomever that was meeting us at the gate ran on grabbed the cooler and ran back off. Never heard a complaint.We used to use to use the call sign “life flight” which is now medevac which prevented delays and holding that could be vital to saving a life. It was not taken lightly and only used when necessary.If it was a heart or something extremely vital then sometimes we would even delay a flight to wait for the cooler and some even the Dr.
A lot of times it was a police escort to the airport also.All in all it’s a pretty nice system that we all hope we never need.
Non critical eyes etc didn’t get as high a priority.

Dogpatch
Dogpatch
3 hours ago
Reply to  Lewin Day

Lewin ,
Thanks for all the great work you guys are putting into this fantastic site.
In these turbulent times we all need an escape and happily you guys provide that opportunity.
The love of all things auto is something that people from all walks of life enjoy no matter what.
Thanks again .

DriveSheSaid
DriveSheSaid
15 hours ago

They’re Aussomely Organized!

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
15 hours ago

Amazing that a country that has helicopters for herding cattle hasn’t figured that flying over traffic is faster than driving green corridor or not. Also no accidents or jams to slow down for.

EricTheViking
EricTheViking
1 hour ago

Not every hospital has helipad or close access to an open space that can be used as helipad.

Livernois
Livernois
8 minutes ago
Reply to  EricTheViking

Even for those hospitals that have helipads, most can only operate only one or maybe two helicopters at a time for everything, including picking up patients for the ER.

And it’s worth remembering that hospitals aren’t just bringing in a single organ for a single operation, when a single donor dies they’re potentially sending out multiple organs to multiple hospitals prepped for transplants.

This is a good example of how simple solutions aren’t simple anymore once they move to complex scenarios.

No More Crossovers
No More Crossovers
16 hours ago

For anyone wondering, I believe that’s a police bmw 530d on escort duty

Undecided profile name
Undecided profile name
16 hours ago

Most of America does not have that level of control of the traffic lights.

No More Crossovers
No More Crossovers
16 hours ago

You say that like red lights would stop half the drivers

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
15 hours ago

Does Australia have right turn on red?

Ford_Timelord
Ford_Timelord
13 hours ago

No. We don’t even have turn left on red (seeing as we drive on the left hand side of the road).

Shane
Shane
10 hours ago

We drive on the left so that would have us turning into cross traffic.
I don’t know about other states but NSW does have left turn on red at a limited number of intersections. If it’s not signposted that you can turn left on red, you are not permitted to do so.

1978fiatspyderfan
1978fiatspyderfan
15 hours ago

But our hospitals all have heliports and helicopters to bypass that 60s era problem

InvivnI
InvivnI
14 hours ago

Most – if not all – of Australia’s major hospitals (where I’d expect a complex organ transplant would be occurring) have helipads too. I imagine there’s sometimes a reason why it’d still need to go via the road network – no available choppers for example, or the organ is coming from somewhere that doesn’t have a helipad so it’s quicker to go by car.

Ford_Timelord
Ford_Timelord
13 hours ago
Reply to  InvivnI

It might be a bit hard to organise a heli flight from an airport what with flight paths etc. TBH I’m not sure if i’ve ever seen a helicoptor at a major airport. Only regional ones.

This could however be a great use of Drones.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
8 hours ago
Reply to  Ford_Timelord

“This could however be a great use of Drones”

Great. Now I’m imagining military drones delivering the latest target of a drone strike to the transplant hospital like a cat dropping half a mouse on the doorstep.

Thanks for the nightmare fuel..

Ford_Timelord
Ford_Timelord
7 hours ago
Reply to  Cheap Bastard

Haha oh lordy. What a hellscape.

28
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x