Perfusion keeps a donated organ alive outside the body, giving surgeons more time. Since 2020, Northwestern has seen a 30 percent increase in its liver transplant volume.
Nationwide, the number of lung, liver and heart transplants rose more than 10 percent each in 2023, one of the largest year-over-year increases in decades. By tapping into this new pool of donors, transplant centers can find more quickly for the excess patients who urgently need them, says Shimul Shah, director of the University of Cincinnati liver program.