Organ Preservation Alliance Incorporated

CHARITABLE AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE AREA OF ORGAN AND TISSUE PRESERVATION, IN ORDER TO ADVANCE HUMAN HEALTH.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TRANSPLANTATION (AST)'S RECOVERY AND PRESERVATION COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE AND OTHER TRANSPLANT ORGANIZATIONS, WE INITIATED AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF THE POTENTIAL TO APPLY TO EXTENDED ORGAN PRESERVATION DURATIONS TO ENABLE BROADER TRANSPLANT ORGAN SHARING AND THEREBY INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TRANSPLANTS EACH YEAR. ACTIVITIES CONSISTED PRIMARILY OF (1) INTERVIEWS WITH DOZENS OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THE AREAS ORGAN PROCUREMENT, PRESERVATION, TRANSPORT, TRANSPLANTATION, AND POST-OPERATIVE CARE, (2) LITERATURE ANALYSIS, AND (3) ANALYSIS OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION LITERATURE, FINANCIAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH DATA, AND MEDICAL DATA FROM ROUGHLY 200,000 PAST ORGAN DONORS. FINDINGS HAVE HEAVILY INFORMED THE GOALS AND MILESTONES OF A NUMBER OF LARGE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS IN LIVER AND KIDNEY PRESERVATION FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, WITH A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED WITH THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TRANSPLANTATION SOME TIME IN 2021.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL REPOSITORIES (ISBER), WE UNDERTOOK AN IN-DEPTH RESEARCH PROJECT EXAMINING THE POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF BIOPRESERVATION SCIENCE TO DEVELOPING "LIVING BIOBANKS" OF HUMAN DONOR TISSUE FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, WITH THE MAJOR EMPHASIS ON SKIN (SUMMER 2019) AND BRAIN TISSUE (FALL 2019). ACTIVITIES CONSISTED PRIMARILY OF (1) INTERVIEWS WITH DOZENS OF SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THE AREAS OF ORGAN AND TISSUE PROCUREMENT, RESEARCH ORGAN AND TISSUE PLACEMENT, BIOBANKING, CRYOPRESERVATION SCIENCE, TISSUE SLICE CULTURE, BASIC BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH, DRUG DEVELOPMENT, AND TOXICOLOGY (PRIMARILY CHEMICAL AND COSMETICS TESTING), (2) LITERATURE RESEARCH IN THESE SAME AREAS, AND (3) ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL DATA ASSOCIATED WITH DISCARDED ORGANS AND TISSUE FROM THOUSANDS OF ORGAN DONORS. FINDINGS HAVE SHAPED THE GOALS OF A NUMBER OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS PROPOSED TO AND/OR FUNDED BY U.S. SCIENCE AGENCIES AND PRIVATE CHARITIES IN 2019 AND 2020, INCLUDING A NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) AND NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, INCLUDING THE PLANNING OF AN NSF ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER (ATP-BIO.ORG).

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, WE LED A PLANNING PROCESS AND CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO ESTABLISH TWO ACADEMIC RESEARCH CENTERS IN THE AREA OF ORGAN AND TISSUE CRYOPRESERVATION WHILE DEVELOPING MULTIPLE ASSOCIATED BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS SUITABLE FOR FUNDING BY GOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE ENTITIES. THE MAIN ACTIVITIES INVOLVED (1) DISCUSSIONS AND DOCUMENT PREPARATION WITH UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS AND (2) DISCUSSIONS WITH MANY PROSPECTIVE FOUNDING STAKEHOLDER PARTNERS, PHILANTHROPIC DONORS, AND RESEARCH COLLABORATORS, AND (3) ADDITIONAL LITERATURE AND RESEARCH AND DATA ANALYSIS TO SUPPLEMENT OUR OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES AND TRANSLATE THEM INTO ACTIONABLE RESEARCH PLANS. THIS PROJECT CONTINUED INTO 2020 AND WAS SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED WITH THE LAUNCH OF A NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER (ATP- BIO.ORG) IN FALL 2020 AS WELL AS TWO NEW RESEARCH CENTERS THAT WILL OFFICIALLY LAUNCH IN 2021.

CHARITABLE AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE AREA OF ORGAN AND TISSUE PRESERVATION, IN ORDER TO ADVANCE HUMAN HEALTH.