DETROIT -- A male patient at a University of Michigan hospital remained in critical condition Wednesday awaiting a double lung transplant two days after a plane crashed, killing six members of a Survival Flight team and destroying potentially lifesaving donor organs intended for him.

Hospital officials would release no information about the patient other than that he was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Dr. Jeffrey Punch, transplant director for the university's medical school, would not say how the patient or his family got the news of the crash but did say that all organ transplant recipients are told about "dry runs." 

"We honestly warn people it's not a transplant until it's a transplant," Punch said. "We know the recipient might not make it until the next (organ) comes around."

The patient already was prepped for surgery when the operation was aborted Monday evening.

Punch said organ transplants have to be timed very tightly because the transplant team doesn't know if a transplant is possible until surgeons actually look at the organs.

Organ transplant surgeries at the hospital were not suspended following the plane crash, and transplant flight crews have performed five transports since then, said university spokeswoman Denise Landis.

"We're not suspending any transplant surgeries," hospital spokeswoman Krista Hopson said Wednesday. "If there was an organ that became available and matched one of our patients, we would have absolutely moved forward with that surgery."

An organization that works closely with the transplant unit says the hospital may not perform any new lung transplants until later this week.

"They informed us they would prefer not to do any lung transplants until (Thursday), with the exception of the candidate who did not get a lung transplant on Monday," said Tom Beyersdorf, Gift of Life of Michigan's executive director.

Gift of Life does blood work on donor organs and analysis for compatibility with transplant recipients in the state of Michigan. Its sister organization in Wisconsin was in contact with the University of Michigan on Monday's aborted organ transplant.

Killed in the crash were cardiac surgeon Dr. Martinus "Martin" Spoor; transplant donation specialist Richard Chenault II; Dr. David Ashburn, a 35-year-old physician-in-training in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery; transplant donation specialist, Richard LaPensee; and pilots Dennis Hoyes and Bill Serra.

The Cessna that crashed Monday was out of service for some time this spring while undergoing its mandated overhaul, Landis said. She said a second plane now is being used for long-distance flights. Helicopters perform shorter transports.

The university's hospital has a multiyear contract worth about $500,000 with Marlin Air under which the company is to provide two planes and five pilots, as well as needed mechanics. The contract also calls for preflight checks and ground safety checks, said Peter Forster, chief administrator for the hospital's emergency department.

Forster said that all aircraft used by Survival Flight are licensed as Michigan ambulances. The hospital has worked with Marlin Air for about 20 years.

Investigators were still unable to find major pieces of the wreckage by Wednesday afternoon, when divers looking in water 50 feet deep were called off due to high waves on Lake Michigan, National Transportation Safety Board investigator John Brannen said. Smaller pieces of the plane, including the baggage door, flap parts and seat cushions, have been found, but investigators still want to find larger pieces and the voice data recorder, which could help pinpoint the accident's cause, he said.

Brannen expected the search to continue at least through the end of the week.

"We will continue examining maintenance records and pilot records, anything we can do behind the scenes," Brannen said. "But as far as wreckage examination, we are waiting to recover the wreckage from the water."

The investigation is still looking at the trim system, which controls bank and pitch, and could lead to steering failures, he said, though he said it was not the investigation's focus. Radar data shows that the plane did not level off after pilots signaled they had a malfunction, he said.

Stuart Dingman, who owns Belleville-based Marlin Air, told the Detroit Free Press that maintenance problems had nothing to do with the crash, adding the company's maintenance records are "impeccable."

"These airplanes are such reliable crafts, and that's why they were selected. The accident rate is so low. That's why it's hard to understand," he said.

The university's Survival Flight operation used a single helicopter for transport of organs and patients from 1983 to 1986, when it added a second helicopter.

It used air charters for supply airplanes until adding its own plane in 1987.

"When there is a time factor involved, we needed to have an airplane available," Punch said.

The University of Michigan is one of nine hospitals in the state with organ transplant teams.

The 125-member University of Michigan team includes surgeons, technicians, nurses and transplant coordinators.

However, it's now down to only one full-time technician whose job is to prepare the organ for transplant after Chenault and LaPensee were killed Monday.

Despite losing the two technicians and surgeons, the University of Michigan team still is more than capable of continuing to save lives, said Bill Morris, executive director of transplant services at the University of Pittsburgh.

"It's a tremendous loss, but that's not to say the University of Michigan can't do a transplant today," Morris said. "They could have done one (Tuesday) night."

Morris was one of several dozen people to leave condolences on the Internet following the Survival Flight crash.

Morris said the technicians are critical to organ transplant teams because of their expertise in preserving donated organs and caring for them during transport.

Until those positions are refilled, their roles can be filled by transplant surgeons, he said.

Beyersdorf said his organization's technician, or perfusionist, is available. He added that trained part-time perfusionists also could include surgical technicians and physician assistants.

Gift of Life of Michigan received 11 organ donation referrals in a 12-hour period Tuesday night following news reports about the downed plane and impact on the organ transplant recipient who is back on a waiting list, he said.

"Typically the referrals are of someone who (may die) in the next few hours or days," Beyersdorf said. "Most are not medically suitable. We're in the process of evaluating those 11. Typically, if we have 11 there are usually two or three potential donors."