April 2010 – The ash cloud has caused airports throughout Europe to close and there are virtually no regular flight connections. Nevertheless, the clock is ticking for a patient, who is waiting for an urgently needed stem cell transplantation, at a hospital in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. A suitable donor has already been found and is ready to have the hematopoietic stem cells extracted in Great Britain. Arrangements for pick-up of the stem cells have already been made, however the flights booked for the on-board courier (OBC) were cancelled at the last minute. But how can the donation reach the patient when time is limited, virtually all air traffic in Europe has come to a halt, no ferries are operating, transport by road is not an option and even the Eurostar is booked out?
Extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions – and a service provider, who can develop appropriate concepts on short notice and professionally implement them. That is precisely time:matters’ strength – tailor-made customer solutions for complex as well as time-critical logistics situations.
The time:matters employee quickly contacts an aircraft captain and convinces him to help the on-board courier with this crucial assignment. Due to the tense air traffic situation, only a charter flight using a small aircraft comes into question, as it is necessary to fly at visual flight altitude beneath the ash cloud. No problem for the experienced captain – as an avid hobby pilot he possesses the appropriate pilot’s license and even the suitable airplane – a Beechcraft “Bonanza.”
Equipped with a special container to transport the sensitive cargo, the pilot and the on-board courier take off together for England. Following their arrival, the hematopoietic stem cells are extracted from the donor and now must be transplanted to the recipient in Germany within less than 72 hours. The courier receives the valuable shipment at 8:25.
At 14:30 on that very same day, merely a good 6 hours after pick-up in England, he delivers the hematopoietic stem cells to the hospital in North Rhine-Westphalia, where doctors can commence with preparations for the transplantation shortly thereafter. The operation is a success and the patient, his family and also the doctors are all impressed by the quick and reliable time:matters service.
