UAE | Health

Woman with lung disease seeks airline help for China trip

A Dubai resident desperate to get his wife to China for a lung transplant operation is unable to book flights because airlines are restricting the amount of oxygen he can bring on board that are vital for his wife's survival.

  • By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 August 20, 2006
  • Gulf News

  • Huma Hassan, 28, needs six litres of oxygen per minute which means she has to carry about five cylinders for the trip.
  • Image Credit: Emmanuelle Landis/Gulf News

Dubai: A Dubai resident desperate to get his wife to China for a lung transplant operation is unable to book flights because airlines are restricting the amount of oxygen he can bring on board that are vital for his wife's survival.

Kamran Hassan, 30, from Pakistan, moved to Dubai with his wife, Huma, 28, five months ago where she has been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. It is a disease where gradually the air sacs of the lungs are replaced by fibrotic tissue causing an irreversible loss of the tissue's ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream.

"My wife needs a lung transplant but there are no live donors for lungs, you need a sudden death case and hope for matching lungs," said Hassan.

"A hospital near Shanghai, the Wuxi Chest Hospital is ready to admit her. They said they could do the transplant in two months but we have no money for the operation and no airline will take us," said Hassan.

During the flight, Huma needs about five cylinders of oxygen as she requires six litres of oxygen per minute. So far all airlines have declined, however her doctors have assessed that she could reduce this to four litres of oxygen per minute for the flight. "She is too weak to transfer flights and pick up more oxygen on the way, it is not possible," said Hassan.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) airlines independently decide whether or not they can transport specific medical supplies. "It depends on the aircraft, the equipment already on board and the training of the staff," said Ebrahim Kamal, IATA country manager.

"There are no standard rules on this. Airlines make their own rules up depending on the aircraft type. There are certain rules, however, that obliges airlines to provide medical help to passengers on board but anything else has to be decided by airline physicians," said Kamal.

Qatar Airways said they have passed the request on to the headquarters in Doha and if approved the couple could fly to China very soon.

Air China only has indirect flights via Beijing. Etihad do not fly to China and Emirates said they have to assess the case. A spokesperson for the airline said, "Emirates provides oxygen on-board for medical cases in strict accordance with international safety regulations and guidelines. Any such medical request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis."

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