Countywide : Auction Set to Benefit Medical Flight Network

An auction is planned for Saturday to raise funds for AirLifeLine, a national emergency medical transportation network that offers free services to patients in financial need.

The network, which was founded in Sacramento in 1978 with 25 pilots, now boasts 700 volunteer pilots in 42 states who donate their time and aircraft to the service.

Just this week, AirLifeLine flew to California Medical Center in Los Angeles to pick up a liver and deliver it to Sacramento for a transplant operation. And for the past year, the pilots have been flying a 22-year-old Redding man to and from Palo Alto for chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin’s Disease, said spokeswoman Susan Martinez.

She also said the organization flew 181 “missions” in 1985 and has logged 80 more this year.

Despite the pilots’ free services, the organization does have administrative costs, Martinez said. That is why an auction has been scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Million Air Hangar at the airport, 19300 Ike Jones Road.

Dusty Wings, an organization of former and current flight attendants founded in 1962, is organizing the auction. Donated items to be auctioned include hot-air balloon rides, hotel accommodations, tickets aboard American Airlines to West Germany and a trip to Las Vegas. Tickets, at $6 each, will include hors d’oeuvres and two drinks. For information, call 962-6637.

Additional information on the service is available by calling (916) 933-3060 or writing to 1011 St. Andrews Drive, Suite I, El Dorado Hills, Ca. 95630.