"Milestone" in Tyrol

Donor kidneys arrive frozen from the USA

The X-Therma team together with colleagues from the Medical University of Innsbruck, Johns Hopkins University Baltimore (US) and the TimeSeal device.(Bild: Med Uni Innsbruck)

A milestone! The Medical University of Innsbruck and a Tyrolean biotechnology company are leading the way with a new transportation method. Kidneys from pig bodies remain functional for up to 120 hours.

The new transport technology was used to transport removed pig kidneys from the USA to Tyrol five times - for the first time in the world at temperatures below freezing. It was possible to prove this: After 72 hours of transportation, the organ was still fully functional!

Functional for up to 120 hours
The technology established over the three years ensures that kidneys are preserved for transplantation for up to 120 hours. Part of the know-how and the necessary device (Time Seal) comes from the Tyrolean biotechnology company X-Therma. After transportation, the organs are reheated in the Organ LifeTM laboratory in Innsbruck.

Storage below zero degrees without ice forming
"Organs can be stored and transported outside the body for several days below freezing point - without ice forming," explains top physician and transplant researcher Gerald Brandacher, Co-Director of the Department of Visceral, Transplantation and Thoracic Surgery (VTT) at Med Uni Innsbruck.

The transplantation of a kidney.(Bild: Med Uni Innsbruck)

Improving global organ exchange?
The advantages? "We can now match organs much better and use more complex methods to get the best organ for a recipient that will last longer and better," says the researcher happily. Now we could even consider exchanging organs worldwide. This would dramatically increase the donor pool.

For comparison: with previous transports, a kidney could only be preserved for 24 hours.

The kidneys are transported frozen in this device (TimeSeal).(Bild: Med Uni Innsbruck)

Model for other organs too?
What works for kidneys should also work for the heart, liver and other organs. Brandacher is also confident about this. There have already been "initial preliminary tests" at the Medical University, which are "very promising". However, "adjustments" would of course have to be made here - the organs are different, for example in terms of volume and tissue consistency.

There are also initial preliminary tests for other organs that are very promising.

Gerald Brandacher

For the liver, for example, a larger transport container would be necessary for the flight. A "milestone" would also be urgently needed here, as in the case of the heart there is currently only four hours between removal and transplantation.