Airlift for kidney transplant passenger

A cruise passenger who has been waiting two years for a transplant was winched off Cunard’s Queen Victoria this morning when a kidney became available.
A helicopter from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall picked her up from the ship 50 miles off The Lizard shortly before 6.00 am. She and her husband were flown to Luton Airport, from where an ambulance rushed her to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
Mrs Judy Stockwell had been alerted at four o’clock this morning that a donor kidney had been found, and she had to be at the hospital by 9.00 am.
She told the BBC how she contacted the ship’s purser when she received the phone call because “we didn’t know where we were” and she wanted to know how she could get back.
Speaking after she reached the hospital, Mrs Stockwell, 64, added: “I was really desperate because this is going to change my life. I’ve been doing dialysis four a times day. I’m so grateful that someone has given me this opportunity.”
The ship, which left Southampton yesterday, continued on its way to Barcelona. Mr and Mrs Stockwell will no doubt be looking forward to an alternative voyage when she recovers.
LATEST: Mrs Stockwell’s transplant operation went well, and she is now recovering at Addenbrooke’s. My thanks to RNAS Culdrose for providing the video of the airlift.