*Purpose: To build a national network of dedicated cardiothoracic surgical procurement and Organ Care System (OCS™) ex-vivo perfusion clinical experts to: Maximize cardiothoracic donor organ utilization for transplantation; overcome the logistical and infrastructural burden of distant donor organ procurement and national allocation; standardize the clinical quality of care for ex-vivo perfusion and assessment of cardiothoracic allografts; and establish a better work-life balance for transplant teams across the U.S.

*Methods: Leveraging the OCS System, the only FDA approved portable perfusion technology for heart and lung transplantation, to build a national infrastructure to enable an end-to-end service structure to comprehensively cover: donor screening, donor surgical assessment/procurement, OCS perfusion management and transportation of the cardiothoracic organs from any donor hospital to any transplant program. Forming a true collaborative partnership between industry, Organ Procurement Organizations and transplant programs across the U.S.

*Results: The National OCS Program was initiated in 2021 for lung transplantation using the OCS Lung technology in 9 major regions across the U.S. Early experience is very encouraging and has demonstrated the capabilities of this comprehensive program to significantly expand thoracic organ retrieval distance. Enabling cross-country thoracic organ sharing to benefit more patients awaiting transplants while unburdening transplant programs resources. The map below demonstrates actual National OCS Program lung procurement, OCS perfusion to transplantation. The National OCS program is now expanding to include OCS Heart system and provide the same service to heart transplant programs across the U.S.

*Conclusions: The current process of cardiothoracic donor organ procurement and related logistics are challenging and unscalable to meet the growing national demand for increased donor organ utilization for lung and heart transplantation. The national OCS program was designed to create a true collaborative partnership between industry, OPOs and transplant programs to provide solutions to overcome the existing challenges and transform the field of cardiothoracic transplantation in the U.S.

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