Don Webber’s CEO Perspective #8
To the Organ Transplantation Community,
Hope this finds you all well and thriving.
Many of us have just returned from the 2025 International Congress of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS), May 28-31 in Singapore. Bridge to Life was well represented with eight of the 31 abstracts accepted for presentation. Moreover, we were proud to sponsor a symposium on Expanding the Boundaries of Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE): Addressing Challenges and Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific Region.
We also launched our new branding recently at ILTS. We’ve always believed that how we show up matters. That’s why we’ve refreshed our brand identity-not to change who we are, but to express it more clearly.
Our new look is grounded in the values that define us: trusted partnerships, purposeful innovation, and a shared commitment to improving outcomes in organ transplantation. The updated design captures the many-layered connections of the transplant journey while signaling our continued focus on moving the field forward.
Bridge to Life Rebrand on Vimeo
You’ll start seeing this new identity across our communications, packaging, and digital platforms. But rest assured, the things you count on from us-our reliable solutions, dedicated support and uncompromising quality-remain unchanged.
Allow me some of your time to walk you through the major highlights from ILTS.
Bridge to Life was very excited to present the findings of clinical research on the use of HOPE (Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion) in pediatric liver transplantation, as well as new research on the use of HOPE in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) in Pediatric Liver Transplantation: Preliminary Results
The researchers found that HOPE appears beneficial for pediatric liver transplantation, particularly for suboptimal or reduced grafts and complex cases requiring extended bench surgeries. Further comparative studies and long-term data are needed to refine indications.
HOPE for hepatocellular carcinoma patients – recurrence analysis in patients transplanted with grafts submitted to hypothermic oxygenated perfusion
The researchers from ULS de Coimbra concluded that HOPE appears to reduce liver cancer recurrence after liver transplantation for HCC. In their analysis, they allowed the use of grafts from donors aged ?80 years old, improving access to liver transplantation for these patients. Moreover, transplant patients receiving HOPE experienced significantly reduced the Cold Ischemic Time (CIT) and Ischemic-Reperfusion Injury (IRI) severity.
Machine Perfusion in Liver Transplantation: A Game Changer for Middle-Volume Centers?
Based on their findings, researchers concluded that understanding machine perfusion’s benefits in middle-volume centers is essential for refining and improving organ preservation strategies and long-term liver transplantation success. Machine perfusion demonstrated a positive impact on post-liver transplantation outcomes in a middle-volume transplant center. Its advantages are especially noticeable in grafts from marginal donors; however, it offers also protective effects for containers who are less compromised.
For the full abstracts, please visit our ILTS webpage: ILTS Info Hub 2025 | Bridge to Life Ltd
Bridge to Life Symposium
Bridge to Life also sponsored a symposium on “Expanding the Boundaries of Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion: Addressing Challenges and Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific Region”. Speakers include Dr. Sonal Asthana from Aster Hospitals, Dr. Andrea Schlegel from Cleveland Clinic, Ohio and Dr. Rebeca Sanabria Mateos from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.
Expanding the Boundaries of Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE): Addressing Challenges and Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific Region
The objectives of the Symposium were to:
- Highlight the clinical and logistical advantages of HOPE for liver transplantation
- Discuss region-specific applications such as pediatric, split liver, and LDLT cases
- Foster international collaboration to expand the use of machine perfusion in Asia
Dr. Sonal Asthana, Lead Consultant, HPB & Liver Transplant Surgery, Aster Hospitals, was Chairperson and Moderator.
Professor Andrea Schlegel, MD, MBA, an academic transplant surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio) specializing in liver transplantation and hepato-biliary surgery, reviewed the state of the art in Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion in liver transplantation. In her talk, she considered:
- Overview of HOPE’s use and success in Europe for both DCD and DBD liver grafts.
- Latest results from clinical trials and real-world data, on the clinical benefits of HOPE, including reduced ischemia-reperfusion injury, better graft survival, and reduced. Incidence and severity of post LT complications.
- Bridge to HOPE trial results updates
- Comparison of adoption across Europe, India, and pending FDA approval in the USA.
- Future research directions
Dr. Rebeca Sanabria Mateos, Adult and Paediatric Liver Transplant Surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, explored expanding applications of hypothermic perfusion in liver transplantation, including the unique challenges in pediatric liver transplantation, the complexities of split liver transplantation, and value of HOPE in living donor liver transplantation.
The Symposium was well attended, and sparked a lively Q&A session following the presentations. A recording of the session is available on our website: ILTS Info Hub 2025 | Bridge to Life Ltd.
Upcoming Conferences
We are looking forward to the upcoming The European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT), June 29-July 2 in London; the 13th Congress of The International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTS), in Berlin, September 28-30; and especially the World Transplant Congress (WTC), the joint congress of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), and The Transplantation Society (TTS), in San Francisco, August 2-6, where we will be presenting the results of the 12-month follow-up study of the Bridge to HOPE trial. Following are scheduled presentations:
Symposium details:
Title: Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE): From Science to Clinical Impact
Time: August 4, 7:00 am – 8:00 am PT
Location: Moscone Center, Room 307
Moderator:
- Garret Roll, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Speakers:
- David Axelrod, MD, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, OH
- David Foley, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI
- Andrea Schlegel, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
This program was approved by the ISDE 2025 Scientific Committee as an independent activity held in conjunction with the 21st World Congress for Esophageal Diseases. This program is not sponsored or endorsed by ISDE 2025.
Plenary Session
Session Title: Plenary Abstracts 2
Presentation Title: Hypothermic-Oxygenated and Normothermic Machine Perfusion: A Risk-Matched Post-Hoc Comparison of the Bridge to Hope Randomized Trial with Prospectively Collected Institutional Outcomes
Time: August 4, 10:30 am – 11:30 am PT
Location: Moscone Center, SFO Ballroom
Presenter:
- Chase J. Wehrle, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
ILTS 2025 Young Investigators Award Winner
Poster Presentations
Session Title: Liver
Poster Title: Impact of Hypothermic Oxygenated Machine Perfusion on Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Liver Transplantation: Stratified Analysis Based on Donor Age
Time: August 4, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm PT
Location: Moscone Center
Presenter:
- Marco Maria Pascale , Policlinico Universitario Fondazione Agostino Gemelli, Rome, Italy
Session Title: Expanding the Donor Pool
Presentation Title: Economic Assessment of Hypothermic Oxygenated Machine Perfusion in Liver Transplantation
Time: August 5, 4:30 pm –5:45 pm PT
Location: 5 Moscone Center, Room 154
Presenter:
- David Axelrod MD, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, OH
Session Title: Deceased Donor Management
Presentation Title: Decreased Rejection Severity with Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion: Sub Analysis from a Pivotal Multicenter Trial of HOPE for Liver Transplantation
Time: August 6, 8:15 am – 9:30 am PT
Location: Moscone Center, Room 20
Presenter:
- David J. Reich, MD, FACS, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Session Title: Past Meets Future: Redefining the Limits of Transplantation Presentation Title: Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion (HOPE) in Pediatric Liver Transplantation: A Multicenter Study
Time: August 6, 10:00 am – 11:15 am PT
Presenter:
- Dr Francisco Hernández Oliveros, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
Late-Breaking Presentations
Session Title: Liver Transplantation and Machine Perfusion
Presentation Title: Clinical and Logistical Impact of Machine Perfusion in a Low Volume Liver Transplant Center
Time: August 3, 2:15 pm – 3:30 pm PT
Location: Moscone Center
Presenter:
- Marco Maria Pascale , Policlinico Universitario Fondazione Agostino Gemelli, Rome, Italy
Session Title: Liver Transplantation and Machine Perfusion
Presentation Title: Novel Approach to Viability Assessment of Split Liver Grafts Using Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion
Time: August 3, 2:15 pm – 3:30 pm PT
Location: Moscone Center
Presenter:
- Geofia Crasta, Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute – Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Session Title: Liver Transplantation: New Techniques, Immunosuppression Strategies and Patient Outcomes
Presentation Title: Immunomodulation through Hypothermic Oxygenated Perfusion in Liver Transplantation: Biomarker Analysis in Peripheral Blood
Time: August 5, 8:15 am –9:30 am PT
Location: Moscone Center
Presenter
- Marco Maria Pascale , Policlinico Universitario Fondazione Agostino Gemelli, Rome, Italy
Looking forward to seeing you at all or some of these important clinical research conferences!
As always, I welcome hearing from you.
Don Webber
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bridge to Life Ltd.
