King’s pilots ground-breaking liver transplant programme

23 March 2026 - “We are extremely proud to have a part in this ground-breaking step forward in organ donation and transplantation.”

King’s has been selected by NHS Blood and Transplant as one of 15 assessment and recovery centres (ARCs) in the UK to trial an innovative organ preservation programme, to help boost the number of life-saving organ transplants.

The creation of these regional centres will allow more time for the organs to be assessed, so more organ donations can be accepted for transplant. Currently, many organs are not transplanted simply because of the short time scales involved.

The trial aims to increase availability of machine perfusion to ensure the best possible use is made from every donated organ, transforming the way transplant services save patients’ lives.

Machine perfusion helps to preserve and assess selected donated organs which would otherwise not be transplanted. The donated organ is connected to a machine that circulates oxygenated blood and nutrients through it. This process helps preserve organs during a transplantation, and while the organ is on the machine, a number of tests can be done to see how viable it will be.

King’s Liver Transplant Unit, which runs one of the largest transplantation programmes in Europe, will provide liver perfusion as part of the pilot scheme.

Varuna Aluvihare, Consultant in Liver Medicine at King’s, said: “Through machine perfusion, we have the potential to be able to transplant livers, which would have otherwise carried a higher risk, into patients facing a long and uncertain wait for a suitable organ — with excellent outcomes.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected as a pilot site by NHS Blood and Transplant, and have a part in this ground-breaking step forward in organ donation and transplantation.”