A Croatian Air Force (HRZ) Black Hawk helicopter successfully completed a medical transport mission involving a donor heart
The Black Hawk crew is ready and trained in such demanding and time-sensitive situations
Yesterday, 5 June 2025, at night, and this morning, 6 June 2025, early in the morning, Croatian Air Force personnel using a Black Hawk UH-60M helicopter were involved in the emergency medical transport of a medical transplant team and donor heart on the route from Donji Miholjac to Zagreb-Dubrava Clinical Hospital.
A three-person crew from the Croatian Air Force’s 194th Multi-Mission Helicopter Squadron conducted the critical mission overnight on 5 and 6 June 2025.
The same Croatian Air Force personnel departed the Lučko barracks early in the morning. At 6:38 they picked up the medical crew who had brought the heart from Hungary to Donji Miholjac. The crew arrived at the Dubrava Clinical Hospital’s helipad, where the transplant was to take place.
The Black Hawk helicopter successfully transported an organ from Donji Miholjac to Dubrava Clinica Hospital during the night
“The Black Hawk helicopter from the 194th Multi-role Helicopter Squadron successfully completed the task of transporting the organ from Donji Miholjac to Dubrava Clinical Hospital during the night” the Croatian Air Force pilot said when describing the specifics of the emergency helicopter transport. This assignment reaffirmed the need of prompt and accurate coordination between the helicopter crew and the medical transplant team.
The pilot also attributed the flight’s quickness and effectiveness to the crews’ preparedness and training, saying, “The crews are always ready, and their professionalism comes to the fore precisely in such demanding and time-sensitive situations.”
Joint coordination of Croatia’s Civil Protection Operational Centre, the Ministry of Health, and the Croatian Armed Forces
An emergency transfer of the medical team and organ from Hungary to Croatia (to the Dubrava Clinical Hospital) was executed via the cooperation of the Ministry of Health, the Civil Protection Operations Centre, and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. In response to the Civil Protection Operations Centre’s request, the Croatian Air Force and the GSCAF Command and Operations Centre coordinated the medical team’s air transportation from Zagreb to Donji Miholjac via Croatian Air Force helicopter. Following the organ retrieval in Hungary, the medical team was then transported from Donji Miholjac to the Dubrava Clinical Hospital’s helipad.
