Donor Heart Survives Helicopter Crash, Being Dropped Before Transplant

It's safe to say there was a force of some kind that just did not want a patient to receive a heart transplant, but the hospital's medical staff pushed through, and pulled it off.

A pilot flying a helicopter carrying a donor heart was hospitalized with minor injuries after the helicopter crashed on its side. Luckily, it went down on the roof of Keck Hospital of USC as they came in for a landing. The other two occupants aboard said they had no complaints, and declined treatment from paramedics.

“The aircraft is stable on its side, on the helipad,” LAFD said in a news alert at 3:18 p.m. Friday. “There does not appear to be a significant fuel leak.”

The heart was able to be recovered from the downed bird, and was given to a member of the hospital staff. As the staff member walked across the helipad, he tripped and fell, dropping the case that carried the donor organ.

Within a few hours of the crash, the undamaged organ was transplanted into a patient, according to spokeswoman for Keck Hospital of USC, Meg Aldrich.