Coast Guard Airlifts Blood For Ailing Cruise Ship Passenger Off SF Coast

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - The U.S. Coast Guard airdropped packaged blood for an ailing passenger aboard a cruise ship about 1,000 miles off the coast of San Francisco on Wednesday.

At about 9:45 a.m., a doctor onboard the cruise ship Oosterdam contacted the U.S. Coast Guard requesting medical assistance for a 68-year-old woman with internal bleeding, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

At about 5 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircrew dropped two units of blood, sourced from a local blood bank in Sacramento, via parachute to medical personnel aboard the Oosterdam.

The Oosterdam crew and medical personnel will maintain close communication with the U.S. Coast Guard until the vessel arrives in Vancouver, Canada on Saturday.

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