PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — 20 years ago on 9/11, we watched people sacrifice their lives to save others as the World Trade Towers fell. But on that day and the days following it, there were other kinds of heroism that also saved lives.
Like so many others across the country, the staff at Gift of Life huddled in their conference room, watching the events of that day unfold. Gift of Life coordinates transplants from Northeastern Pennsylvania to Delaware, and from South Jersey to Central Pennsylvania.
Patti Mulvania was the administrator on call that day. She said once they made sure everyone was safe, they decided they would stay on the job.
“We were holding lives in our hands that day, of people who had been waiting for we don’t know how long on the organ transplant waiting list who may never get another opportunity, and we should really stay the course," Mulvania said.
She said they had a donor heart and lungs in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The recipient was too far away to risk transporting them by ground, but airspace was shut down because of the hospital’s proximity to New York.
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“The organs that we were retrieving, particularly the heart and lung, only lived outside the body four to six hours in those days. Driving is at least two to three hours to where the hospital was," Gift of Life President and CEO Howard Nathan said.
“We went back to our charter flight and said we have to make the best case we can. ‘No’ can’t be good enough. We have to really make the case," Mulvania added.
“We’re fortunate. We have that ability to reach out and save someone, so let’s do it.”
They were able to convince the FAA to allow the flight.
“We were able to fly two teams up to northeastern Pennsylvania and we were able to recover for transplant the kidneys, the heart, the liver, the lungs, and the pancreas," Nathan explained.
Mulvania said after witnessing the heroism on September 11th, of people sacrificing their lives by rushing into buildings to try to save others, they felt they had to keep going.
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“If there is a family who has lost someone they love, and they have the selflessness and generosity to say they’re going to save a life, with the need we know, damnit, we are going to make that happen," said Mulvania.
Nathan said they made sure everyone was safe, and then it was business as usual.
“We weren’t going to sacrifice one more life because of what was happening. We couldn’t abandon a case where we could save a life through organ transplantation," Nathan said.
“We persevered, and over that next week, we actually coordinated over 30 organ transplants.”
Saving seven lives.
