Organ Recovery Systems (ORS) was organized to develop technology to improve the quality, quantity and application of organs donated for transplantation and medical research. Its initial product is a proprietary, FDA-cleared and CE marked kidney preservation and transport device called the LifePort® Kidney Transporter (LifePort)
ORS is primarily focused on the commercial launch of LifePort which has generated over $9 million in revenues during its pilot introduction to the marketplace.
A landmark study published January 1, 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) demonstrates that the use of the LifePort to preserve and transport kidneys for transplantation offers significant benefits in kidney survival and function when compared to those stored in the traditional box of ice (cold storage). The study was the first randomized, prospective trial to compare these two methods of preservation.
Results for kidneys preserved and transported on the LifePort compared to those stored and transported in the traditional box of ice showed that: the odds of a delay in kidney function post-transplantation were 43% lower and showed that kidneys were 48% less likely to fail within the first year. Click here to view related abstracts.
Unlike the icebox, LifePort monitors the temperature and status of the organ and preserves it by pumping it continuously with a cold solution, even while the organ is being transported to its intended recipient.
LifePort has also shown to improve the utilization of donated kidneys and increase the organ recovery rate. These benefits along with data reported from other machine preservation studies suggest that reduced overall costs of kidney transplantation may also be achieved with Lifeport.
LifePort is thus a new tool that can help increase the number of kidneys being made available for transplant while improving the quality of those organs and potentially lowering transplant related healthcare costs.
There is a significant unmet need for donor kidneys. In 2006, there were 17,000 kidney transplants in the US, with a further 72,000 patients on the waiting list. The average wait for a kidney transplant in the US is 3.6 years. Annually, thousands of patients die waiting for a donor kidney. The dramatic supply/demand imbalance is similar for Europe and worldwide.
In collaboration with key transplant centres in the US and Europe, other LifePort systems are in late stage pre-clinical development for the preservation and transport of the heart, lung, liver and pancreas.
For more information on LifePort or our Organ Recovery Systems business unit please go to www.organrecoverysystems.com
