The Role of Perfluorocarbon in Organ Preservation

Abstract

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are inert solutions that have a high capacity for dissolving oxygen. There has been a continuing level of research into the delivery of oxygen during solid organ preservation with the use of PFCs. The one- and two-layer methods have been used as static storage techniques, proving particularly successful for pancreas preservation. They can also be formulated as an emulsion for continual perfusion or as a simple flush solution. The success of PFCs in organ preservation seems to be somewhat organ and species dependant, and further experimental evidence is needed to establish their application.

Chemical Oxygenation of Pancreatic Tissue Prior to Islet Isolation and Transplantation

“…In addition, histological tissue damage and frequency of apoptosis were significantly reduced after TLM storage (Marada et al, 2010). In contrast, attempts to preserve porcine kidneys utilizing TLM resulted in increased inflammation, tissue injury and reduced renal function which raised the question whether TLM is suitable for organs from species larger than rodents (Hosgood and Nicholson, 2010). Moreover, experiments to successfully preserve rat lungs during 6 hour-storage by means of TLM failed to demonstrate significant improvement of graft survival compared to cold storage in Ringer´s lactate, UWS or Celsior.…”

“…Nevertheless, larger organs such as liver or kidney may require vascular supply of oxygen for efficient oxygenation of the entire tissue volume (Hosgood and Nicholson, 2010). As discussed above, the efforts and costs related to continuous perfusion of donor organs with oxygenated preservation solutions are currently limiting the broad implementation of this technique (Opelz and Dohler, 2007).…”

Cold Ischaemic Injury in Kidney Transplantation

“…Oxygen can be continuously added allowing adequate diffusion through the organ. TLM has been particularly beneficial for pancreas preservation, allowing a sufficient amount of ATP to be generated to improve organ viability [121,123]. The use of TLM has shown potential in other organs but has failed to gain much support as the ability of oxygen to penetrate deep into tissue in more densely capsulated organs has been questioned.…”

“…The use of TLM has shown potential in other organs but has failed to gain much support as the ability of oxygen to penetrate deep into tissue in more densely capsulated organs has been questioned. In the kidney its beneficial effect was found in a rat model, however, when applied in a porcine model the results showed no advantage [121,[124][125][126].…”

“…Perfluorocarbons (PFC) are inert solutions that have a high capacity for dissolving oxygen. They release oxygen down a concentration gradient creating a highly oxygenated environment which is not affected by temperature [121,122]. They can be added simply during CS in a technique called the two layer method (TLM).…”