34 Lives Begins Implementation Study to Give Unused Human
Kidneys a Second Chance
WEST
LAFAYETTE, Ind., May 9, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- On April 20, 2024,
the 34 Lives perfusion team rescued a human kidney that had been
deemed not usable. The rescued kidney was successfully transplanted
into a recipient who had been on dialysis for almost two years. The
Purdue Research Park-based company is on a mission to decrease the
number of kidneys in the US that are recovered with the intent to
transplant but subsequently not used.
"34 Lives has developed an innovative service that enables us to
provide previously unavailable information regarding the health of
hard-to-place kidneys, allowing them to be placed with increased
confidence by transplant professionals," explained Chris Jaynes, Co-Founder at 34 Lives.
The company is conducting an Implementation Study throughout the
US that will document 80 rescued kidneys in collaboration with 10
Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) and four transplant
hospitals: Indiana University Health,
Mt. Sinai (NY), University of
Wisconsin, and University of
Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Bill Goggins, Professor of
Surgery at Indiana University School of
Medicine, who performed the transplant, said, "Speaking for
myself, I believe the data that 34 Lives provided helped me to
better assess the donated kidney that was at risk of being
discarded. I am pleased to report that the recipient is doing very
well and went home five days post-transplant without any medical
complications. While we expected her kidney to have a slow start
and that she might need a run of dialysis after transplant, the
kidney started right away, and she did not."
Dr. Giselle Guerra, Medical
Director of the Kidney Transplant Program at Miami Transplant
Institute, added, "Dr. Bill Goggins
is one of the top transplant surgeons in the country who now has
performed the first kidney transplant optimized with the
normothermic machine. The transplant doctors working with 34 Lives
are excited with what the future holds. The 34 Lives warm perfusion
service is going to help decrease the discard rate of kidneys
recovered for possible transplant in the US. Everyone in the study
is committed to optimizing kidneys that may be considered marginal
and transplanting more individuals who await this life-altering
surgery. It's the reason we all got involved—to transplant
more kidneys and save more lives."
Julie Bergin, CEO of the
participating OPO Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA),
commented, "Our organization is proud to be part of the effort to
give unused kidneys a 'second chance', and to increase the
number of patients who are given the gift of life. This new
technology improves the opportunities for our donor heroes to save
and heal more lives."
Every day in this country, approximately 34 lives are lost as
patients on the national transplant waiting list are removed either
die or become too ill to stay on the list. "In 2023, over 8,500
kidneys were recovered with the intent to be transplanted but, for
a variety of reasons, were unused. We are thrilled to be working
with OPOs and transplant hospitals across the country to reduce
that number and save lives," added Kathleen
St. Jean, Co-Founder, 34 Lives.
The news comes in the wake of recent congressional hearings that
have called for immediate transformation and innovation regarding
organ transplantation. According to the National Kidney Foundation
(NKF), over 123,000 Americans are on the national transplant
waiting list; more than 101,000 need a kidney.
To learn more about the work of 34 Lives, visit the website
at https://34lives.com/
About 34 Lives
- 34 Lives is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) headquartered in
the Purdue Research Park in West
Lafayette, Indiana. The firm is committed to saving the
lives of patients awaiting kidney transplant by providing
innovative solutions that can give hard-to-place kidneys a second
chance and enough time to make it to a waiting patient.
- A Central Preservation and Assessment Service to Optimize Donor
Kidney Allocation, OPTIMAL, the firm's research protocol, can be
found at ClinicalTrials.gov. [Identifier NCT06263023]
- 34 Lives has been funded by the National Kidney Foundation
Innovation Fund, Ballad Health, the Niswonger Foundation, and
individual investors.
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SOURCE 34 Lives, PBC