Study Shows Machine Perfusion Significantly Improves Transplant Results

Chicago, Illinois (ots/PRNewswire) - A landmark study
published today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)
demonstrates that use of a specially designed machine to store
kidneys for transplantation offers significant benefits in kidney
survival and function when compared to those stored in a traditional
"ice box", or cold storage. Unlike the icebox, the LifePort Kidney
Transporter monitors the temperature and vascular performance of the
organ in real time, while preserving it by pumping the kidney
continuously with a cold solution, even while the organ is being
transported to its intended recipient.

"This important study confirms the critical role that
transportable machine perfusion can play in improving kidney
transplant outcomes," said David Kravitz, Chief Executive Officer of
Organ Recovery Systems, the manufacturer of LifePort. "It also
demonstrates that LifePort should have a central place in all
transplantation programs, to help ensure the best possible patient
outcomes."

The international trial enrolled kidney pairs from 336
consecutive deceased donors in Europe and randomly assigned one
kidney to machine perfusion and the other to static storage. Results
showed that the odds of a delay in kidney function post transplant,
were reduced by almost half when machine perfusion was used compared
with static cold storage. Delay in kidney function, or DGF, is a
factor that is known to adversely affect the long-term outcome of
kidney transplantation. The study also showed that the LifePort
kidneys were 48 percent less likely to fail within the first year
post-transplant compared to those kidneys stored in the traditional
box of ice prior to transplantation. This is the first randomized,
prospective study to directly compare the two methods of storing and
transporting organs for transplantation.

With a continuing global shortage of organs for transplantation,
it is important to find ways of increasing not just the number of
kidneys available but also the quality of organs for transplantation
to improve the long-term outcome for recipients. By improving the
quantity and quality of organs for transplant, both improvements in
clinical outcomes and cost savings to health systems are likely to
occur. More than 1.5 million people worldwide suffer from end stage
renal disease, for which a kidney transplant is the preferred
treatment option.

The LifePort provides a sealed, sterile, protected environment
where a physiologic solution is gently pumped through the kidney at
cold temperatures to minimize damage while the organ is outside the
body. The LifePort is lightweight and portable allowing organs to be
perfused and evaluated from the time of recovery until transplant. It
can travel unaccompanied by land or air, safely transporting the
kidneys across town or between countries.

About the Machine Preservation Trial

The Machine Preservation Trial was an investigator-driven study,
run by an independent Scientific Steering Committee across The
Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with Eurotransplant (an
international organ exchange organization) collaborating as study
coordinators. The Machine Preservation trial was sponsored by Organ
Recovery Systems of Chicago, USA, manufacturers of the LifePort
Kidney Transporter.

About Organ Recovery Systems

Organ Recovery Systems is a division of Lifeline Scientific Inc,
a Chicago-based global medical technology company with European
headquarters in Brussels. Organ Recovery Systems develops advanced
perfusion techniques to improve the quality and quantity of organs,
tissues and cells for transplantation. Working with a team of leading
transplant professionals, Organ Recovery Systems develops medical
devices, chemical solutions and techniques to improve the process by
which cells, tissues and organs are treated - from the time of
donation to the time of transplantation.

Organ Recovery Systems initial product is the LifePort Kidney
Transporter. During it's pilot introduction phase, 270 LifePorts have
perfused more than 12,000 kidneys in transplant programs worldwide.
Medical devices for ex vivo preservation of the heart, lung, pancreas
and liver are in pre-clinical development.

ots Originaltext: Scientific Steering Committee, Machine Preservation Trial
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

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