A Sennybridge mother who received a life-saving liver transplant earlier this year says a “revolutionary” technique being rolled out across the UK will give hope to patients facing long waits for a donor organ.

Alex Cornish, 38, was among the first in the UK to benefit from Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion (ANRP) - a method that keeps donor organs supplied with oxygenated blood after death. The technique has been shown to improve transplant outcomes and increase the number of viable organs retrieved from each donor.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has confirmed ANRP will now be rolled out across the UK’s abdominal organ retrieval teams by 2027, backed by new funding from the Welsh Government and the other UK health departments. It will also enable nationwide sharing of ANRP organs between the centres.

NHSBT has estimated that when the national rollout is complete it will enable around 150 extra liver transplants per year.

Alex received her transplant at the Royal Free Hospital in London this year after developing liver failure from autoimmune hepatitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

“I diagnosed 12 years ago – I was feeling sick, losing weight, jaundiced, I had itchy skin. My daughter was one at the time,” she said.

About four years ago, Alex was told that she would eventually need a transplant, but her condition deteriorated and she joined the waiting list in March this year.

“When you are on the waiting list it’s like you have a dark cloud over you,” she said. “You carry on, put on a smile for the kids, but that feeling is lingering on. Too many people die on the waiting list.”

Speaking about receiving the call offering her a donor liver, she said: “I was excited to get the call. I am feeling really good now. I am extremely grateful to the hospital and grateful to the family of the donor. I will be writing them a letter, to say how much I appreciate what they have done. I can make plans and look forward to time with my children now. Evey day feels like gift.”

Alex, who runs her own hairdressing business and lives with her husband Michael and children Jacob, 15, and Evelyn, 13, said the ANRP technique “really makes sense” and should be used as widely as possible.

Research has shown that livers retrieved using ANRP are 51 per cent less likely to fail in the first year after transplant, and kidneys treated with the technique are 35 per cent likely to suffer delayed graft function. On average, the number of organs transplanted from each donor increases from 2.6 to 3.3. Similar donors go on to provide a liver transplant almost twice as often when ANRP is used, donating in 63 per cent of cases compared to 34 per cent when it is not used.

Most organ donors in the UK now fall into the category of “donation after circulatory death” (DCD), where the heart has stopped beating. During DCD donation, circulation is impaired during the time that the donor is dying. There is also no circulation at all following death but before the organs have been cooled down enough for transplant.

During ANRP, the oxygenated blood supply restores the organ’s energy stores, so the organ can better tolerate the cold storage during transport, making them more likely to work well when transplanted.

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh pioneered ANRP in the UK.

Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Most people who donate now have death confirmed following circulatory death. They can usually donate fewer organs than people whose death is confirmed by neurological criteria.

“Regional perfusion keeps the organs of these donors oxygenated and at body temperature, after circulation has stopped. This helps prevent organ damage, improves organ function, and increases the chances that more organs will be suitable for transplant.

“The roll out of Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion is a major step forwards in organ utilisation. Organs that would previously have not been donated will now save lives.

“But organs can only be donated if people support donation. It is critically important we get more people to confirm they want to donate on the NHS Organ Donor Register.”

Mr Carlo Ceresa, Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary consultant and liver transplant surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, said: “Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion has allowed us to safely expand our donation through circulatory death programme and offer transplants to more of the patients who need them most. By resuscitating the liver in the donor, we are able to transplant livers which would have otherwise carried a higher risk into patients who might otherwise face a long wait for a suitable organ — with excellent outcomes. The successful implementation of ANRP at the Royal Free London is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team.”

Mr Andrew Butler, consultant transplant surgeon at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Normothermic regional perfusion has revolutionised the way that we are able to provide care for our patients. By using NRP as part of the retrieval process, we can double the number of livers that are transplanted from donors who donate under specific circumstances. We are better able to honour the amazing gift that the donor and their family have so generously offered and this is a privilege for us as a transplant team.”

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care for Wales Jeremy Miles said: “Wales has been an early adopter of innovative organ preservation techniques and it is really positive to see it being rolled out to all abdominal retrieval centres in the UK. As organ donation is delivered on a UK-wide basis, this will further benefit patients in Wales on the transplant waiting list, improving outcomes for patients.”

Health Minister Zubir Ahmed said: “This is a significant step forward for UK donation and transplantation and cements its status as a world leader. As a transplant surgeon, I know first hand the difference this innovative technique will make to UK patients who are desperately waiting for an organ and a new life. By funding its rollout, we will help save and improve hundreds more lives every year and offer the gift of transplantation and hope to more patients than ever before. I urge everyone to take a moment to register their organ donation decision - it’s a simple step that could save someone’s life.”

Around 8,150 people in the UK are currently waiting for an organ transplant, including more than 6,600 patients waiting for a kidney and more than 600 waiting for a liver.

For more information on organ donation, please visit: www.organdonation.nhs.uk