Case Study: How Lifecycle Disrupted the Organ Procurement Industry

Synopsis:

For many years, Lifecycle has played a large role in the organ and tissue donation space, but the majority of that work has always been focused on the back-end or the processing of those recovered tissues.

We decided to change that by creating a better, easier way for those working in the front-end or the recovery of organs and tissues to store and access a key product used in the recovery process.

Background:

The most common reagent organ procurement organizations (OPOs) use is what they refer to as Slush. This is a 0.9% Sodium Chloride (saline) solution.

OPOs typically receive this liquid saline in 1-liter IV-style bags that they then freeze into solid bricks during storage. Since organ procurement occurs when an individual passes, there is no way of knowing when the Slush will be needed – freezing is a byproduct of the unscheduled needs.

Challenge:

At an organ or tissue recovery site, OPO medical staff access the Slush by wrapping the frozen brick in a wrap or towel, then breaking it into small pieces resembling a slush consistency with a surgical mallet. After it’s broken down, the technician removes the towel, opens the peel pouch aseptically, and removes any bag debris occurring from using the surgical mallet by hand.

This process is cumbersome and inconvenient, especially considering that every minute counts during the organ procurement process. How could Lifecycle improve upon the Slush product and make it easier for technicians to access it quickly?

Solution:

Lifecycle created the CHEM+SLUSH: a 4-liter CHEM+POUR™ Bag filled to 1 liter with the same saline solution, and then sealed in our overwrap with the tear notch.

Placing the 1 liter of solution in a 4-liter bag allows for easier storage, as the bags can be frozen flat instead of into bricks and stacked on top of each other.

At the recovery site, the flat CHEM+SLUSH can be broken up by hand instead of a mallet, making the process faster, less noisy, and less difficult. CHEM+SLUSH are also cut open rather than peeled open, which negates the need to remove debris from the bag.

Finally, CHEM+SLUSH can be manufactured to order, giving OPOs the flexibility they need to operate efficiently in a very unpredictable industry.  This means no longer having to worry about allocations issues.

Customer Response:

We developed the CHEM+SLUSH with input from several OPOs and provided samples of the CHEM+SLUSH to those and several more OPOs so they could try them and provide their feedback.

One customer who decided to move forward with our product reported that it was an “easy sell.”

The pros, according to the customer, were:

• Lays flat in the freezer, so can store more at once
• Breaks up by hand, with less effort and noise

As we roll out this product to more OPOs, after an official launch in spring 2018, we’ll be collecting additional feedback from customers to ensure that we’re serving the OPO industry with the best possible solutions so they can best honor the gift of donation.