Members of the UW Hospital and Clinics organ procurement organization say the plane crash on Lake Michigan believed to have killed six of their colleagues is a tragic loss.
Dr. Tony Dalessandro is executive director of the program. He says Monday's crash in Lake Michigan is a reminder of the dangers organ transplant teams can face, even with the highest safety standards are in place.
The plane crashed Monday, shortly after taking off from a Milwaukee airport. The pilot of the plan reportedly sent a distress message shortly after take-off, just before witnesses reported seeing the plane slam into the water. Six members of the University of Michigan's organ transplant team were killed in the crash.
Dalessandro says members of that team transporting organs back to a patient in Michigan knew the risks, and died trying to bring life to another person. The UW transplant program is making grief counselors available for its workers, many of which knew members of the Michigan team killed in the crash.
Dalessandro says the UW program does have safety procedures in place, and may review them after the cause of the crash is determined.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 :52)
