The majority of donor organs are preserved on ice before they are transplanted into a waiting patient. However, when it comes to kidneys there is an alternative – they can be hooked up to pumping machines that pump nutrients through their blood vessels. In an attempt to find out which technique is best researchers at Johns Hopkins University have begun a study to determine whether transplant centers should be stocking up on ice or investing in the pumping machines. Preliminary evidence suggests that the pumping machines will come out on top. Supporters of these machines say that the technique keeps kidneys healthier for longer and that they are good at identifying kidneys that are too damaged to be used for transplant. Since The Gift of Life Donor Program in Philadelphia started using pumping machines it has cut the number of kidneys it discards in half. Meanwhile opponents say that the technique is difficult and expensive – pumping adds $2,000-$5,000 to the cost of a transplant. In defence of criticisms about the cost of pumping Organ Recovery Systems, the maker of the pump being used in the study, say that pumping pays for itself as the recipient of a pumped kidney requires less post-surgery dialysis.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.ap.org on the 12th August 2003.
