Ex Vivo, pioneered at Toronto General Hospital purely through philanthropic support, repairs damaged donor lungs outside of the body to make them suitable for transplantation. In just five years, it increased the number of lung transplants performed in Ontario by 70%.
Simply put, Ex Vivo makes more organs available for transplant – and enables us to save more lives.
The technology has been exported to transplant centres around the globe, saving lives worldwide.
Helping even more people LIVE ON
The Transplant Program has a rich history of translating breakthroughs in one organ area to others at an accelerated pace. Ex Vivo has been successfully adopted for the liver and, most recently, the kidney in a North American first. Experiments are also currently underway for the heart.
Ex Vivo is playing a critical role in addressing the organ shortage issue. But it doesn’t end there.
A powerful research platform
Ex Vivo has impact far beyond making more organs available for transplant: it doubles as a new platform to study organs outside the human body. This will enable us to develop treatments and cures for some of the most devastating diseases.
The Transplant Program’s vision is a future without life-threatening disease – so that a transplant doesn’t have to be the only hope for a second chance at life. Ex Vivo will propel us in the right direction to achieve this vision.