DATE: July 31, 2023

KTC-funded project led to a groundbreaking use of perfusion pump kidney preservation, allowing kidneys tracked by GPS to be flown commercially and kept viable for longer.

Washington, D.C. (July 31, 2023) – The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) today shared a statement regarding a historic success story from Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), one of KTC’s inaugural grant recipients.

KODA announced that earlier this month, a donor kidney had been flown on a commercial airline while the kidney was sustained on a mechanical pump device, unattended by medical professionals for the first time ever. The kidney traveled from Kentucky to a patient at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, who received a lifesaving transplant.

KTC leadership shared the below statement:

“KTC is encouraged by KODA’s success in transporting a kidney via commercial flight, unattended by medical professionals, for the first time in history. This accomplishment is a perfect example of what the transplant community can achieve through collaboration and innovation. KTC is honored to have funded such vital, lifesaving efforts, and the development and practical application of a novel way to preserve a donated kidney during transport.  So, we look forward to monitoring future progress from KODA and our other grant recipients to further our goals of increasing kidney transplants and decreasing obstacles to kidney transplantation.”

To read the full release from KODA, please click HERE.

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About the Kidney Transplant Collaborative:

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing kidney transplants and decreasing financial obstacles and other problems kidney patients, donors, and their families experience with the kidney transplant process.