the need
Every year, thousands of Canadians are added to organ waiting lists and every 3 days someone dies while waiting. Although most of us believe that organ donation is a good thing, only about a quarter of us are registered as donors. Tragically, of the organs that are donated, many are unusable (wasted) due to a variety of reasons, including both clinical and non-clinical factors.
the intervention
Dr. Mayur Brahmania (Board Member and Hepatologist) and his associate Dr. Anton Skaro (Transplant Surgeon), have committed to increasing the available pool of viable organs to London Health Sciences Center’s Liver Transplant Unit by introducing the proven ‘Abdominal Region Perfusion’ (ARP) practice.
London Health Sciences Center (LHSC) will be the first hospital in Canada to implement ARP! Instead of transporting organs on ice, which aims to delay the death of viable organs, a new machine will keep organs warm, oxygenated, and alive. This means that donated organs can stay viable for a longer time before being transplanted, resulting in more successful transplants thanks to fewer post-transplant complications and reduced wait times. In other words, ARP saves lives
the action
Your donations support Dr. Brahmania and Dr. Skaro in starting a clinical ARP program within the Liver Transplant Unit of LHSC. The first two years of the program will provide data for a parallel research program already underway. A successful first two years will help establish ARP into the hospital budget and make ARP a standard clinical practice at LHSC.
the progress
Your support of Jillian’s Lake Ontario Swim in 2021, and the Move For Life 1600km Realy in 2022, allowed us to donate $230,000 for the purchase of the ARP machine; maintainenance of the ARP machine for the first two years; and provide the tubes and wiring needed to support ARP in the first transplant.
the next steps
The Liver Transplant Unit of LHSC will be training staff and implementing the ARP procedure as part of their mission to save lives through liver transplant.