#55 - Reinventing organ transportation - Lisa Anderson - Paragonix Technologies

Do you know how organs are traditionally transported for transplantation purposes?

In a cooler filled with ice.

When I learned that this approach was the most widespread method, I admit I was quite shocked...

We talk here about "living" organs whose preservation is crucial for the success of their transplant!

And as you can imagine, these transplants are often vital.

The good news is: some people have racked their brains and rolled up their sleeves to change all that!

And one of them is none other than Lisa Anderson, Co-Founder and President of Paragonix Technologies.

With her team, she has literally redefined how organs could be transported, wiping the slate clean of an archaic, despite standard method.

Last year, their technology was named one of TIME's 200 Best Inventions in the Medical Care category.

A technology that allows organs to be preserved and monitored under ideal conditions of temperature, pressure, and perfusion.

Since its creation in 2010, the company has enabled the transport of over 10,000 hearts, lungs, kidneys, livers, and pancreases combined to date.

A paradigm shift, which not only allows for better preservation of these tissues during transport, but is also accompanied by a surprising improvement in transplant outcomes, and helps democratise access to them.