Drs. Shaf Keshavjee and Marcelo Cypel, researchers in the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratories at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, have received the 2018 Inventor of the Year Award for their pioneering work in developing the Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) system.
EVLP facilitates the safe pre-transplant assessment and treatment of donor lungs, enabling clinicians to select and improve the clinical acceptability of organs for transplantation. The technique involves perfusing a special fluid through cold preserved donor lungs to rewarm the organ while ventilating it with oxygen outside of the body. This results in recovery and successful transplantation of 70 per cent of lungs that would otherwise be classified as marginally acceptable.
As a result of their invention, UHN has doubled the number of lung transplants performed each year. EVLP has been used clinically to assess more than 550 donor lungs in Toronto and many more internationally as this technique has been adopted worldwide. This invention has consequently saved the lives of many patients with end stage lung diseases.
Ultimately, EVLP expands the pool of available donor organs and enhances the success of transplantation. By addressing the global shortage of donor lungs, EVLP has the potential to reduce—if not completely eliminate—lung transplant wait times.
“We’re proud to be the home for this ground-breaking innovation in lung transplantation,” says Dr. Brad Wouters, Executive Vice President, Science and Research. “The work of Drs. Keshavjee and Cypel, and that of the entire transplant research program at UHN is truly one of a kind. This breakthrough would not have been possible without critical support from our sponsors, our donors, the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation and industry partners. Their continued support has also helped the team to make tremendous strides with EVLP—including expanding this technology for use in other organs such as the kidney, liver and heart—and this award recognizes their excellence in transplantation research.”
The Inventor of the Year Award is presented annually by UHN’s Technology Development and Commercialization Office. The award celebrates a UHN inventor or team that has demonstrated excellence in translating their findings into new technologies, services and products that improve health. The award was presented to Drs. Keshavjee and Cypel at the UHN's Report to Our Community event in June 2019.
Congratulations to Drs. Keshavjee and Cypel.