HONOLULU (KHON2) — Two patients in Honolulu, Hawai’i provided lifesaving organs to patients on an organ transplant list in San Francisco, California. Some are calling it a historic milestone, according to Legacy of Life Hawai’i.
“The Paragonix organ preservation devices allow Legacy of Life Hawai’i to deliver transplantable
organs to patients on the waiting list in the U.S. mainland when we don’t have a local patient
candidate here in Hawai’i,” explained Felicia Wells-Williams, Director of Clinical Operations at
Legacy of Life Hawai’i.
The transportation of the organs utilized the Paragonix Donor LUNGguard™ and LIVERguard Liver Preservation™ systems. The advanced organ preservation technology is FDA-cleared for lung and liver transport.
“We are immensely proud to play a part in these life-saving procedures. Our preservation technologies are designed to help the transplant community confidently overcome these challenges by providing FDA-cleared preservation devices that offer real-time insights into the environmental conditions and location of the organ. It is those extreme and complex medical situations that inspire our team at Paragonix to go above-and beyond for both recipient patients and donor patients,” said Dr. Lisa Anderson, President & CEO of Paragonix Technologies.
Paragonix said that this is the first of its kind technology that safely transports these organs. It integrates rigid exterior casing with proprietary temperature technology. The transport method also allows transporters and hospital personnel to track the organ in real time.
“The successful transportation of a preserved donor organ from Legacy of Life Hawai’i to California highlights the challenges organ procurement organizations and Transplant Centers must overcome to safely deliver the gift of a donor organ to an awaiting patient,” added Anderson.