Heart rushed to transplant op on scheduled flight

A heart was flown from Kerry to Dublin yesterday on board a scheduled Aer Arann flight as bad weather scuppered plans by the air corps to transport the organ for a lifesaving operation.

In a race against time, the heart was brought from Tralee General Hospital to Farranfore Airport and onto the Aer Arann plane bound for Dublin.

The plane waited on the tarmac at Farranfore for almost an hour beyond the scheduled 7.30am departure time, and on landing at Dublin Airport, the heart was transported to the Mater Hospital with a Garda escort.