Additional donor organs through a new method of organ perfusion after death

They call it the rise of the machines in the world of organ transplantation. Erasmus ™ Doctors and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have recently started using a new device to test the quality of the donor organs in the operating room. They expect the new method to produce about 30 additional livers and pancreas a year, helping to solve the problem of acute shortages of donor organs. In October, the first liver, available with the new technology, was successfully transplanted to Erasmus ™.

The method calls regional normothermic perfusion (NRP) and means that the donor organs are connected to a circulatory system during the sampling operation. This occurs after the death of the donor after a circulatory arrest. The system pumps blood at body temperature into the blood vessels of the abdominal cavity containing organs of the potential donor. This method offers doctors the opportunity to test organs labeled as unusable up to now on quality and possibly transplantation. This technique was not used in the Netherlands before, but in the United Kingdom.

First successful transplant

In October, the first liver transplant was performed after the infusion of a regional organ to Erasmus ™. This was a donor liver transplant that had initially been rejected by all centers in the Netherlands because of the high risk of dysfunction. The innovative perfusion technique was used to test the function of the organ in the donor. When this test was positive, it was decided to graft the liver. The liver transplant was successful and the recipient has now left the hospital in good condition. The new liver is doing very well

Org Infusion

The transplant surgeon Jeroen de Jonge of Erasmus MC performed the procedure with his colleague Piotr Domagala and the transplant surgeon Volkert Huurman of the LUMC . "It is fascinating to see that an organ that was initially rejected by all the centers for good reasons has finally finally saved a patient's life after a thorough test.That shows me the great importance of developing new techniques of organ perfusion to save organs. "

Decrease the number of organs

Organs that became available mainly come from deceased donors after a circulatory arrest, contrary to what the # We know now. dead brain donors. "More and more donors have died after a circulatory arrest, but due to lack of oxygen, we – especially the liver – often have to refuse a donation.The NRP offers the opportunity to address the growing shortage of Donor organs by opening a new source Organizations that, for the first time, were outside the criteria and were rejected can now be evaluated for their actual function.For example, they can still claim a transplant. " , explains Huurman

Organs from a waiting list donor

About one in five patients on the waiting list for organ transplantation die before they get pregnant. an organ is not available. The regional organ perfusion technique makes it possible to perform other liver and pancreas transplants each year. Of course, the NRP applies only to those who have given consent to organ donation. After two years, it will be evaluated if the NRP is indeed successful and can be extended to other types of donors and other regions of the Netherlands

The project is taking place in the region West organ collection and is a collaboration of LUMC, Erasmus MC and the Dutch Tranplantation Foundation. It is funded by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports

Source: Erasmus MC & LUMC