How this new tech can offer hope for patients waiting for transplants

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

organ donation crisis persists as demand far exceeds supply. In India alone, over 300,000 patients are currently on the waiting list for donor organs, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Successful organ donation hinges on multiple factors, including organ compatibility with the recipient’s body weight, height, size, and blood group. Even when a match is found, the viability of the organ, particularly the heart, can be compromised by the lack of oxygen and blood during the dying process, a TOI report stated.

Revolutionary Procedure Expands Organ Availability
A new technique, known as abdominal normothermic regional perfusion (A-NRP), could significantly improve organ availability. Developed by doctors in the US and Canada, this method involves connecting the deceased body to a portable heart and lung machine. This machine supplies blood to vital organs like the liver, pancreas, small intestine, and kidneys after circulatory death. By maintaining a steady flow of oxygen and nutrients, A-NRP enhances the condition of the organs, making them suitable for transplantation.

Dr. Anton Skaro, an associate scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute in Canada, describes A-NRP as “the beginning of a whole new era — a very prosperous era — in transplantation.” Skaro, who is also the surgical director of liver transplantation at London Health Sciences Centre, successfully used this technique in April to transplant a liver from an older deceased donor and has since transplanted additional kidneys and