Normothermic Regional Perfusion in Solid Organ Transplantation

Normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) is used to restore the flow of oxygenated blood following cardiac arrest and reverse warm ischemic injury in donation after circulatory death (DCD) organ transplantation. The use of NRP in this setting has typically been limited to the abdominal cavity, though its use has recently been expanded to chest to help recover DCD hearts, as well. This chapter evaluates the principles behind the use of NRP in DCD organ transplantation as well as not only technical but also ethical and legal aspects associated with its application and the clinical results that have been achieved to date when it has been used to recover various solid organs through the DCD process.