Kidney Perfusion Operations

In 2021, Indiana Donor Network became one of the few organ procurement organizations in the country with a kidney perfusion program dedicated to placing these organs on kidney pumps immediately after recovery surgeries. The program is led by a team of surgical recovery specialists trained in machine perfusion and kidney allocation. Each recovered kidney is flushed and placed on a pump that continuously pushes preservation fluids through the organ, eliminating the need for separate cold storage. Having the program and technology in-house allows for several benefits to our transplant center partners and their patients.

Benefits of Machine Perfusion

Availability of real-time data for better clinical decision making

Placing a kidney on a pump immediately after recovery provides transplant centers with the ability to better assess its viability.

Improved preservation from recovery to transplantation

Kidneys recovered at our on-site Organ and Tissue Recovery Center can travel up to 250 nautical miles to 40 transplant centers across the Midwest.

Better results when a kidney is transplanted into a patient

The pumps continuously push a preservation solution through a lifesaving kidney – much like a heart would do inside the body.

In their own words, members of the Indiana Donor Network team trained in machine perfusion reflect on the program’s impact:

“A lot of people are surprised by these kidneys. They come out, and they don’t look great. But once you flush them and put them on a pump, they just instantly look better.”

“When these kidneys are taken off the pump and transplanted, they have a better chance of working right away and working really well because they were always being perfused and never had a cold ischemic time. Having these pumps and being able to transplant kidneys that wouldn’t have been transplanted makes everything worth it.”