Paragonix Technologies, a company specializing in organ transplant technologies and organ procurement services, announced the completion of the world’s first donor kidney transported using commercial air travel while being continuously perfused in its FDA-cleared KidneyVault Portable Renal Perfusion System. This case was facilitated by the Donor Network of Arizona (DNA), and the donor kidney was successfully transplanted at a transplant center in Texas.
The KidneyVault Portable Renal Perfusion System received FDA-clearance in October 2024 and is designed for end-to-end hypothermic perfusion. Its portability and real-time remote monitoring capabilities provide a new level of standardization, aligning with the workflow for all stakeholders involved in allocating a donor kidney to a recipient in need.
Donor Network of Arizona, a leader in the use of advanced preservation and perfusion techniques and an early adopter of the KidneyVault technology, has increased the use of donated organs in its local service area. As of November 2024, the average number of organs transplanted per donor facilitated by DNA rose from 1.96 to 2.82, nearly one more organ per donor. The organization has turned to advanced technologies in combination with organizational efficiencies to increase the utilization of available donor organs.
Recent revisions to the national kidney allocation policy have expanded organ distribution and increased transplant offers. This has led to more complex logistics and longer cold ischemia times. To mitigate these challenges, the clinical community increasingly relies on hypothermic machine perfusion, which pumps a perfusate solution through the kidney to maintain viability in a controlled environment. However, to date the ability to transport these critical devices has been difficult, typically requiring private aircraft. The KidneyVault System, equipped with a data-driven dashboard that tracks perfusion parameters, temperature conditions, and other critical metrics, allows for transportation inside the cabin of commercial flights – a previously inaccessible method presently being examined by a working group set by the Department of Transportation (DOT), in consultation with the FAA.
