As one of a fraternity of physicians who races at a moment's notice to retrieve live-saving organs, Dr. Mark Staples knows the rewards — and risks — of these mercy missions. The pilot, E. Hoke Smith, performed flawlessly, as he had done countless times before. “I trusted him completely,” said Staples, a member of the transplant team at Shands at the University of Florida. On Monday, Smith was on yet another mission, flying from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville to Shands to retrieve a heart, when his helicopter crashed in the woods north of Palatka. Additional coverage: Med City News, Med City News
Gainesville Sun, by Anne Geggis, 1/2/2012
Tags: Mayo Clinic Jacksonville