Eli5: how do organs about to be transplanted stay alive from the moment they are extracted til they are implanted
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There are [preservation solutions](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/preservation-solution) and organ transport devices that pump the solutions around or through the organ, and also lower the temperature, to keep the organ alive. Depending on the organ, it can be kept alive for 24-48 hours.
Typically a (long) airplane transport may take up to 18 hours; if it’s within the US (NY to LA for example) 6-8 hours, international 14-18 hours. So these transplant solutions make it possible for the donor and the recipient to be in different cities.
And of course, to minimize the time, the transplant surgery team starts “opening up” the recipient while the transport team is in flight to get the organ. Liver transplant surgery for example can take 12+ hours, they have to cut the lower ribs to gain full access to the liver area, so the “prep time” is significant (6 hrs?) before the new organ is even needed to be inserted. So a surgery team gets started while the transport team goes to get the organ.
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