CLEVELAND, OH (CLEVELAND CLINIC) - When it comes to organ donations, every second counts. That's why Cleveland Clinic surgeons are using new technology to help preserve livers before they're transplanted.
You may have seen the coolers that hospitals use to transport donor organs for transplant. However, new technology is helping organ transportation to keep them somewhat alive between donors and recipients. Doctors say that by using perfusion methods, they're able to pump oxygenated blood or solution through a donor's liver outside the body. That, in turn, can help improve the quality of the organ. It also gives surgeons a chance to better examine the liver and determine if it's healthy enough to be transplanted. Or they can further rejuvenate the liver. Research shows perfusion has helped reduce the risk of complications as well.
"We have better results when we use perfusion. Patients go home from the hospital sooner, they have fewer complications, they have better safety in the operating room during the transplants, and then during their post-operative and longer-term course," stated Dr. David Reich, Cleveland Clinic.
Research continues on the use of this new technology, but it's already showing a lot of promise and is starting to be used for other types of organ transplants.
