DULUTH, Ga., June 23, 2026
Bridge to Life Ltd. announced new investigator-initiated research presented at the 2026 American Transplant Congress (ATC) demonstrating the feasibility and promising preservation performance of its VitaSmart™ Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) System in human uterus and small intestine research grafts. The findings expand the scientific evidence supporting the company’s HOPE technology, which is currently FDA-cleared for donor liver preservation prior to transplantation in eligible Donation after Brain Death (DBD) and Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD) donors. Presented during the ATC meeting, including one presentation in the Plenary Session, the studies suggest that hypothermic oxygenated perfusion may provide important preservation benefits beyond liver transplantation. The latest data further reinforce Bridge to Life’s commitment to advancing innovative organ preservation technologies capable of improving transplant outcomes while expanding the future use of donor organs across multiple transplant specialties.
Human Uterus Study Demonstrates Improved Organ Preservation
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic evaluated the use of the VitaSmart HOPE System in human deceased donor uterus grafts, marking what investigators believe is the first reported study of HOPE in this organ type. The study involved six donor uteri, including both DBD and DCD donors, which underwent eight hours of hypothermic oxygenated perfusion following organ procurement. Researchers compared these grafts with paired tissue preserved using traditional static cold storage (SCS) while measuring mitochondrial injury, inflammation, and metabolic activity. The results showed that HOPE supported mitochondrial metabolism, reduced biochemical markers of ischemic injury such as perfusate flavin mononucleotide (FMN), and demonstrated favorable preservation characteristics. Investigators concluded that the technology may provide a valuable platform for both organ preservation and viability assessment, potentially increasing the future use of deceased donor uterus transplantation following additional clinical validation and regulatory review..
HOPE Outperforms Normothermic Perfusion in Intestine Research
A second Cleveland Clinic study compared Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) with Normothermic Machine Perfusion (NMP) for preserving human small intestine grafts intended for transplantation research. The analysis included 20 discarded donor intestines, with 12 preserved using HOPE and 8 using NMP following static cold storage. Researchers assessed mitochondrial function, metabolic activity, inflammatory markers, and epithelial injury after preservation. The findings demonstrated that HOPE significantly reduced mitochondrial injury, as evidenced by lower perfusate FMN levels and decreased release of mitochondrial Complex I and Complex II biomarkers compared with NMP. Investigators concluded that end-ischemic HOPE preserved mitochondrial and metabolic function more effectively than normothermic perfusion, supporting future pilot clinical studies evaluating HOPE in intestinal transplantation and highlighting its potential to improve graft quality before transplantation.
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Bridge to Life Expands the Future of Organ Preservation Technology
The new research strengthens Bridge to Life’s position as an innovator in the MedTech sector by demonstrating the broader potential of the VitaSmart HOPE System beyond its current FDA-cleared liver preservation indication. Company leadership noted that improving preservation quality and providing objective measures of organ viability, including perfusate FMN, could help reduce donor organ discard rates and expand access to transplantation for patients awaiting life-saving procedures. While the use of VitaSmart in uterus and small intestine transplantation remains investigational and will require additional clinical studies and future regulatory review, the encouraging findings presented at ATC 2026 suggest that HOPE technology could play a significant role in the next generation of machine perfusion systems. As transplant medicine increasingly focuses on maximizing donor organ utilization, Bridge to Life continues to advance innovative preservation technologies designed to improve graft quality, enhance clinical decision-making, and support better outcomes across multiple organ transplant programs.
Source: Bridge to Life press release
