The OCS uses a different approach—transporting organs at near body temperature.
In OCS machines, blood, oxygen and nutrients constantly flow through the organs, just as they would inside a human body. So instead of merely being preserved, the organs continue functioning inside the machines. The flow of blood through the heart prompts it to continue beating. The liver produces bile – one of its essential activities. A ventilator puffs air into the lungs. A computer tablet-like device allows surgeons to monitor the health of the organs en route to the hospital.
Organs can survive longer in OCS machines than in traditional coolers. All organs must have blood flowing through them in order to continue as living, functioning organs. While a heart can survive in a medical cooler without a blood supply for roughly four hours, muscle cells will start to die as time goes on. But in the OCS, the heart still pumps and receives blood, so cells can survive longer.
The process has been shown to reduce the number and severity of rejection episodes in lung transplants, and organs in some cases actually get healthier after being placed in the OCS machines. For example, a potential donor who is on a ventilator in a hospital might develop fluid in their lungs as a side effect. But this can clear up when the lung is placed in the OCS. This improvement means more organs are likely to become medically suitable for transplantation. "We can actually monitor their function on the machine and see their function improving prior to transplantation," Dunning said.
The new technology increases organs available for donation. Currently, lungs are transplanted from patients who have become brain dead. But the OCS also allows transplants from patients whose deaths are classified as cardiac death, which has the potential to expand the donor pool by about 25 to 30 percent.
TGH's overall goal is not only to provide more life-saving transplants to meet the needs of our community by expanding the available donors, but also to continue to deliver the highest quality of care.
Tampa General has now performed more than 10,000 transplant operations, placing it among the top 10 busiest transplant centers in the nation. Numerous studies have shown that patients do better when they undergo surgeries in large surgical centers where the teams perform complex procedures more often.
Organ Care System (OCS™) Fact Sheet
Heart, liver and lung transplants:
Lungs
People who need transplants include those with emphysema, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease or other severe conditions. Traditionally, lungs come from deceased donors who have suffered brain death. The OCS also allows the use of lungs from those who have suffered cardiac death.
