New organ preservation and transportation service with Nationwide Organ Recovery Transport Alliance launches with milestone donor lung case electively transported to Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center on a publicly accessible commercial flight

Paragonix Technologies, a leading organ transplant company, announced the launch of a new donor organ courier service in partnership with Nationwide Organ Recovery Transport Alliance (NORA). This initiative is a fundamental shift in the history of organ transplantation, utilizing advanced preservation technology to provide sensitive donor organs with a cost-effective alternative of air transportation on commercial flights rather than traditional private charters. Notably, Norton Thoracic Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix was the first transplant center to utilize the new logistical support network, successfully transplanting the donor lungs without complication or delay.

“Utilizing commercial airfare for organ transplants is crucial, as it can help bridge the gap between donors and recipients across vast distances,” said Dr. Michael Smith, Associate Chief of Thoracic Surgery and Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Norton Thoracic Institute. “The swiftness and reliability of commercial flights in combination with this innovative technology will be indispensable in ensuring organs arrive in optimal condition.”

In the past five years, the policies that determine how an organ is allocated have been revised to establish a more equitable system of national distribution that prioritizes the sickest patients on the waiting list – yet traditional limitations, such as time, manpower and cost, still impact the overall distribution system. As a result, more cases require the utilization of high-demand private aircraft, which are associated with various challenges such as pilot shortages, distance and weather, to procure time-sensitive donations that are located beyond the means of ground transport.

“We are excited for the clinical community to utilize Paragonix devices to their full potential, including in combination with commercial air transportation,” said Dr. Lisa Anderson, CEO and co-founder of Paragonix. “The potential that commercial flights represent to the field at large is extraordinary. Now, recovering an organ from across the country can cost the equivalent of traveling to a neighboring state. We can help minimize greenhouse gas emissions by reducing reliance on private jet carriers, which will be one of the most significant environmental improvements ever brought to transplantation.”

The potential of commercial transportation has not gone unnoticed by governmental authorities. In May of 2024, the president signed into law the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, which included a provision to develop best practices regarding the travel of donor organs in the main cabin of a commercial airliner. The group will begin establishing protocols to mitigate the hazards that organs such as kidneys, which can be shipped in the cargo hold of a commercial aircraft, have experienced for over 20 years.

While legislation continues to develop, the timely launch of this new transportation initiative offers an economical and efficient solution to the transit of life-saving organs today by leveraging the expertise of both NORA and Paragonix to courier organs on-board to their destination, protected in an advanced organ preservation system which has been shown in clinical studies to extend the time an organ can stay out of a human body.¹ The partnership standardizes and enhances cost savings, efficiencies, and overall reliability in organ transportation. NORA’s Care-Custody-Control program leads to a seamless TSA and commercial air experience, ultimately benefiting transplant centers and patients awaiting life-saving transplants.

“This combination of advanced technology and experienced courier service enables elective commercial flight applications that will transform the logistics of organ recovery and better serve the transplant community both locally and nationally,” said Dr. Rajat Walia, Medical Director of Lung Transplantation at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Norton Thoracic Institute. “Here at Norton Thoracic Institute, we are proud to be at the forefront of using innovative measures to improve patient care and impact our greater Phoenix community and beyond.”

The case was made possible due to the unique capability of the BAROguard Donor Lung Preservation System, a Paragonix device launched commercially in April of this year. The system is the first FDA-cleared technology designed to track and maintain the temperature and internal pressure of donor lungs, a significant advancement over traditional ice cooler storage. The lightweight device, purposefully compact like all Paragonix devices, is engineered to fit in the cramped aisle or seat of a flight. A NORA representative accompanied the system alongside a Paragonix clinical specialist on a Southwest flight destined to the airport outside of Dignity Health St. Joseph’s. In total, the lungs traveled for over six hours, and the recipient was reported to be recovering well.

“This partnership is one of a kind,” said Don Jones, CEO & Co-Founder of NORA. “Our team specializes in the management and logistics of organ recovery of all kinds, yet have never seen lungs requested to travel on a commercial flight utilizing advanced organ preservation. We are glad to support this endeavor with our best-in-class couriers and dispatch system to improve equity of organ access across the nation using the latest advancements in preservation technology by Paragonix.”

About Paragonix Technologies

Paragonix Technologies is a leading developer, manufacturer, and service provider in the organ transplant industry, establishing a novel approach to organ preservation. Paragonix Technologies provides Advanced Organ Preservation (“AOP”) devices that safeguard donor organs during the journey between donor and recipient patients. Our FDA-cleared and CE-marked devices incorporate clinically proven and medically trusted cold preservation techniques that allow unprecedented physical and thermal protection to the organ during transit. All Paragonix AOP devices are natively integrated with our novel digital app, delivering real-time organ tracking data and monitoring logistics for transplant teams seeking a secure and centralized solution. For more information, visit www.paragonix.com.

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About the Nationwide Organ Recovery Transport Alliance

The Nationwide Organ Recovery Transport Alliance (NORA), partners with OPOs, Transplant Centers, Hospitals, Laboratories, and Perfusion Companies across North America. We specialize in executing a seamless "One Call Solution" for Air and Ground Organ Recovery Transportation, ensuring optimal efficiency and reliability throughout the process.

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References

1. Ceulemans, L. et al. Extended ischemic time (>15 hours) using controlled hypothermic storage in lung transplantation: A multicenter experience. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, (2024)

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