Budget airline 'jeopardized windpipe transplant'

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The successful transplant of a lab-grown windpipe almost did not happen when budget airline staff refused to allow the transportation of stem cells needed for the operation, UK newspapers reported Friday.

The delay jeopardized the success of the delicate operation, British media said.

The stem cells had been grown in a laboratory in Bristol, western England, but had to be flown to Barcelona ahead of the world-first operation last June.

With a 16-hour window to transport the cells, the medical team had to get to Barcelona as soon as they could. But despite the significance of the operation on Claudio Castillo, 30, they opted to fly with easyJet -- a UK budget carrier -- to save money.

Professor Martin Birchall, a lead researcher on the project, told British media he'd had several conversations with the airline hours before the flight, and was given repeated reassurances it would be fine to take the cells on board.

However, on arrival at Bristol airport, easyJet staff deemed the package of stem cells a security risk as it contained more than 100ml of fluid.

In a statement to CNN on Friday, easyJet said they had no record of a request for medical materials to be carried on the flight.

"Given the highly publicised liquid restrictions imposed by the Government, it is surprising that these travellers thought that an agreement with "someone in Head Office" would suffice,"the statement said.

"We can confirm that we do not have any record of the passengers request to carry medical materials onboard the flight; however as a gesture of goodwill we have refunded the passenger for the cost of their easyJet flight."

At first, Birchall and his team considered driving the vital cells to Barcelona, but realized that would have taken too long as the stem cells -- which took five months to grow -- would have become unusable.

A private jet came to the rescue with a price tag of £14, 000 ($20,000), and the cells and medical team arrived in time for the groundbreaking transplant.

Doctors gave Claudia Castillo a new windpipe with tissue engineered from her own stem cells in what experts have hailed as a "milestone in medicine."