Miracle Flights Announces 610 Free Medical Flights Performed in December 2018

The nation's leading medical flight charity Miracle Flights today reported 610 free commercial airline flights provided in December 2018 to critically ill children and adults in need of specialized, distant medical care. This reflects a 28 percent increase over the 476 flights performed in December 2017.

Patients from 28 states and five countries, ranging in age from 3 months to 77 years, flew last month to medical hubs around the United States to seek treatment for conditions as diverse as clubfoot, cancer, epilepsy, arthrogryposis—and a host of other syndromes and diagnoses too rare or severe to be treated close to home.

Since its founding in 1985, the Las Vegas–based Miracle Flights has provided a total of 122,515 free commercial flights and flown more than 69 million miles to help patients with complex medical needs gain access to life-changing treatments not available in their local communities.

CEO Mark E. Brown notes that while Miracle Flights is not age restrictive, the majority of patients the organization serves are under the age of 10, and most require multiple flights for ongoing care.

"In December, we flew nine-year-old Christian on his 40th Miracle Flight, and we see that level of need frequently among our families," said Brown. "While we do have patients who request a one-time flight to obtain a valuable second opinion, most of the children we fly have such critical conditions, they need to travel for specialized care on a regular basis. We're grateful we have such a generous support network that we can accommodate those requests every time."

For more information about Miracle Flights, to request flight assistance, or to make a donation, call 800-359-1711 or visit miracleflights.org.