Introduction
An Organ Donor
When a patient is admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital—whether peripheral or university-affiliated (e.g., Heilig Hart Hospital in Lier)—and it is determined that there is no further hope for survival, the possibility of organ donation is discussed with the family. Once consensus is reached, the patient is formally registered as an organ donor.
The procurement team
Once the decision to proceed with organ donation has been made and the practical arrangements are in place, a procurement team from a university hospital (e.g., UZ Leuven) is dispatched. This team consists of a transplant coordinator, two harvesting surgeons, and a specialized nurse.
It is this team—and not the staff from the local hospital—that performs the organ recovery procedure.
The Organ Procurement
Once the organ recovery team is on site and the family has had the opportunity to say their farewells, the donor is transferred to the operating theatre, where the organ procurement is performed. Depending on the organs to be retrieved, they are removed in the following standard sequence: heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
Following organ recovery, (the heart), lungs, and liver are preserved using static cold storage (SCS) in an ice box with specialized preservation solution at approximately 4°C.
In contrast, kidneys that meet predefined clinical criteria are eligible for a more advanced preservation technique: (oxygenated) hypothermic machine perfusion (O2-HMP) using the LifePort® Kidney Transporter, a device developed by Organ Recovery Systems. This approach involves continuous, pulsatile perfusion of the kidney with a cold, (oxygenated) preservation solution at controlled pressure and temperature, typically between 1–8°C.
At this stage, the Kidney Preservationist plays a critical rol in assessing suitability, preparing the device, consulting with the surgeon, and monitoring perfusion parameters to optimize outcomes..
Organ Preservation
Organ Transplantation
Once the organs have been successfully procured and appropriately preserved, they are transported to the recipient hospital and transplanted into the recipient within the designated time window.