Organ Transportation Innovations and Future Trends

摘要

Purpose of Review Transplantation evolved dramatically since the first organ transplant in 1954. Rapid increases in knowledge of immunology and surgical care outpaced the organ transportation infrastructure for organ shipment. Current allocation strategies have necessitated donor organs travelling longer distances over greater periods of time, potentially affecting rates of graft survival, delayed graft function (DGF), or primary graft nonfunction (PNF). Recent Findings Organ transportation and preservation are intimately related because the longer an organ can be maintained ex vivo, the wider the array of possible shipping modalities. Innovations in organ preservation and shipment allow for optimization of allocation strategies. Summary Innovative technologies such as on demand shipment of organs using unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e. drones), the use of smart tools for real-time organ monitoring, and normothermic and hypothermic donor organ perfusion hold great promise for equitable, safe, and durable distribution of high-quality donor organs to matched recipients.