Jayan Nagendran (left) will be discussing innovations in organ transplantation at the Festival of Health on May 26. Photo by Laughing Dog Photography.
Did you know that a majority of donated organs can't be used? Less than 25 per cent of hearts and lungs donated actually get transplanted.
The rarity of transplantable organs, coupled with Canada's low organ-donor rate leads to long wait times for patients who need a new organ. In fact, one out of three patients waiting for lung transplantation die before receiving a transplant.
University of Alberta alumnus and associate professor of surgery Jayan Nagendran is using made-in-Alberta technology to increase the quantity and quality of donated organs. Nagendran, along with surgery professor Darren Freed, is cofounder of Tevosol Inc., a University of Alberta spin-off company creating ex-vivo perfusion devices that keep organs alive outside of the body for transport and repair.
As a surgeon, Nagendran has first-hand experience with an organ that's been outside of the body too long while being transported and is damaged. This is especially difficult in Canada, given our population distribution. The University of Alberta Hospital has the largest geographic service area in the world for a single transplant centre, covering more than six million square kilometres.
"We are frequently facing difficulties because an organ has been out of the body for a long time, in spite of trying to get it here as soon as possible," said Nagendran, who performed the first ex-vivo perfusion lung transplant in Alberta in 2013 and brought the first portable ex-vivo lung perfusion device to the U of A as part of a worldwide clinical trial. "It's one of the reasons why innovation is at the heart of what we do in Edmonton."
Learn more about how Nagendran is keeping organs alive outside the body to increase organ transplants at the Festival of Health on May 26.
The Festival of Health
Register here for your free ticket
Edmonton Clinic Health Academy 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
North Campus, University of Alberta
Barbecue and Entertainment
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Rapid Fire Presentations and Ask The Experts: Q & A Session
1 - 2:30 p.m.
Info Sessions and Tours
3 - 5 p.m.
More information available at uab.ca/healthfest.