Transplant organs spend less time in transit

"This was a great help for us and we were very touched," Chen said.

The ambulance arrived at the Wuxi hospital at 10:52 pm. Doctors eagerly awaiting it took the organs to the operating room to perform the transplant on the patient, a man more than 50 years old who had emphysema.

Chen said: "Doctors and the patient's family members were anxious. We intended to send an ambulance ourselves, but there was not enough time. Fortunately, Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport had arranged one. I hope more airports can provide such help if needed."

The operation went smoothly, the patient's condition stabilized, and he can now breathe with the new lungs.

Progress made

The transplant is evidence of the dedicated efforts made by Chinese authorities over the past decade to make organ transfers more efficient.

Chen, as a doctor and deputy to the National People's Congress, raised a motion during the annual session of the top legislature in 2015, appealing for a green channel to be established for organ transfers.

On Oct 4 that year, Chen and fellow doctor Liu Dong collected lungs from a donor in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The pair planned to take a return flight to Wuxi at 8:20 am from Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.