24-hour Organ Preservation

Controlled temperature helps limit metabolic demands while ex vivo machine perfusion continues to circulate an oxygenated preservation solution through the donor organ’s vasculature. This combined strategy supports cellular metabolism during the interval before implantation and helps reduce dependence on an immediate transplant schedule. It can therefore help maintain the organ in a condition suitable for later evaluation and transplantation.

The preservation solution supplies oxygen and nutrients through the organ’s blood vessels while carrying metabolic waste away. This circulation addresses several needs at once: it supports ongoing cellular activity, helps limit the consequences of ischemic injury, and maintains the internal environment more actively than an approach that provides no continuous vascular perfusion. These functions are central to extending preservation time.

Because the organ remains connected to a perfusion system outside the body, its function can be observed before implantation. The resulting information may help indicate whether the organ remains viable after recovery and preservation. This assessment is especially relevant when the organ’s suitability is uncertain, because it adds functional information to the decision about clinical use.

After donor organ recovery, the organ is connected to an ex vivo machine perfusion system. The system maintains controlled temperature, circulates an oxygenated nutrient-containing solution through the vasculature, and removes metabolic waste during the preservation interval. Before implantation, clinicians can use the preserved organ’s functional information to support evaluation and transplant coordination.

This approach is useful when transplantation requires more time between organ recovery and implantation. Longer preservation can support increased transport distance, more flexible scheduling, and additional coordination among transplant teams. It may also create an opportunity to evaluate organs that were initially considered unsuitable, potentially allowing some to be reconsidered for clinical use.

In medicine, extending the preservation window may improve coordination between donor recovery, transportation, recipient preparation, and implantation. The added time can make scheduling less restrictive and may expand access to organs across a broader geographic area. By supporting evaluation and possible use of marginal organs, the strategy may also contribute to a larger donor pool.