The CHU Toulouse hospital in France has introduced both a liver and a lung machine perfusion program, now having the ability to significantly increase their transplant numbers. In a normal year they perform about 45 liver transplants and about 20 lung transplants and by that already fulfill the local requirement policy for organ transplantation. The machine perfusion programs also allow for utilization of organs donated after circulatory death (DCD).
France is the second largest transplant market in Europe. In 2020 1,112 liver transplants and 291 lung transplants were performed. The waiting list for a new liver or a new lung far exceeds the number of available organs. Machine perfusion is an innovative and proven technology to preserve and evaluate organs outside of the body which makes more donated organs accepted for transplantation.
A recent article in the American Journal of Transplantation showed that combining two commonly used protocols for liver machine perfusion using XVIVO’s Liver Assist enables safe transplantation of initially declined livers with excellent results, providing an effective tool to increase the number of suitable donor organs for transplantation[1].
“Starting two machine perfusion programs show our dedication to give more patients a life-changing transplant. Having the possibility to evaluate organs outside of the body is extremely valuable, which is not possible with traditional cold static preservation on ice. Running the ex vivo lung perfusion program I personally believe we will shorten the time on the waiting list now when more organs can be used. Initially we expect an increase in lung transplants by 20 percent”, says Pierre Rabinel, MD Thoracic Surgery at the CHU Toulouse hospital.
“It makes me very happy that CHU Toulouse starts two programs this year using XVIVO’s technologies. I would say that it is a global trend that hospitals set up machine perfusion programs for all major organs. Full perfusion centers for livers, lungs, kidneys and hearts are being established all around the world, and they are needed. For example, in 2020 only 16 percent of all donated available lungs where used. Machine perfusion will change that number”, says Dag Anderson, CEO of XVIVO.
May 19, 2022
Gothenburg
Dag Andersson, CEO
XVIVO Perfusion AB (publ)
[1] van Leeuwen, O.B., et al., Sequential Hypothermic and Normothermic Machine Perfusion Enables Safe Transplantation of High-risk Donor Livers. Am J Transplant, 2022