Every year, around 28,000 organ transplants are performed in hospitals all over the United States. In addition, another 120,000 people are placed on waiting lists for donor organs, shows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Given that only 40 percent of Americans are registered as organ donors, the U.S. is currently facing an organ donor shortage, Gizmodo reports. Even when transplant organs are available, they still have a short expiration date and need to be quickly delivered to the recipients.
For instance, donor kidneys have a shelf life of a maximum 30 hours and have to be used within that short timeframe or they start to deteriorate. At the same time, other organs, such as the heart, the lungs, and the liver, have an even shorter viability window.
This poses a substantial problem for people on transplant lists that can’t receive the organs in time. This is why researchers are constantly looking for new and viable methods to preserve donor organs.
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