Duke University Hospital

New Capabilities

First U.S. center to use VitaSmart commercially

A donated liver starts dying the moment it stops receiving blood. On November 3, Health Canada licensed Bridge to Life's VitaSmart system, a machine that pumps cold, oxygenated fluid through a donor liver before transplant, making it available to Canadian transplant centers. The same announcement said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Device Designation for the system's investigational use in donor intestines.

Updated 1 hour ago