NEWARK, NJ — A medical "first" for liver transplants took place in Newark last week.

On Sept. 23, a liver preserved by portable hypothermic machine perfusion was successfully transplanted at University Hospital, breaking new ground in New Jersey, according to the medical center. The new technology helps increase the time surgeons have in determining an organ's health and performance before a transplant.

According to James Guarrera, head of the hospital's Center for Advanced Liver Diseases and Transplantation, there is a very short window of time for a surgeon to safely recover a donated organ, determine its viability and then successfully transplant it into a patient. "Every second counts," Guarrera emphasized. "Having new technology to potentially expand that crucial timeframe can be the determining factor in conducting a successful transplantation operation."

Shereef Elnahal, CEO and president at University Hospital, said Guarrera and the University Hospital team have done "truly leading-edge clinical work" implementing ex vivo machine perfusion into the medical center's transplantation operations. "We're honored to be one of a select group of national clinical trial sites that is working on evaluating this important life-saving technology," Elnahal said.

The Center for Advanced Liver Diseases and Transplantation at University Hospital, which opened in 1989, was the first liver transplant center in New Jersey. In addition to transplant operations, the center provides a multi-disciplinary approach for treatment of hepatobiliary disorders such as liver masses, Hepatitis C, bile duct and gall bladder abnormalities, fatty liver disease and portal hypertension.