Hopkins Transplant Team Racing Against Time

Researchers aim to extend preservation window for donor organs and reduce anti-rejection medication

Feb. 3, 2026 at 11:31pm

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Scientists at Johns Hopkins University and partner institutions are conducting research to extend the time donor organs or tissue can be preserved before a transplant, as well as reduce or eliminate the regimens of anti-rejection medication to minimize harmful side effects. This work, part of the Reconstructive Transplant Research Program (RTRP) supported by the U.S. Department of Defense, could improve function and quality of life for wounded service members and have significant impacts in civilian care.

Why it matters

The short window of time to complete a transplant before donor tissue becomes non-viable makes or breaks a potential transplant. Extending this preservation window and reducing anti-rejection medication could open up new opportunities for more transplants, better matching, and improved outcomes for recipients.

The details

Researchers are testing methods to store organs at below-freezing temperatures without ice crystal formation, as well as machine perfusion to keep organs at optimal temperature, oxygenation, and nutrient levels outside the body. They are also working to minimize immunosuppressant medications by infusing donor bone marrow into recipients to reprogram their immune systems. This intersection of preservation and immunology research could dramatically improve transplant success rates.

  • The first hand transplant in the U.S. was completed at the University of Louisville in 1999.
  • The DOD has provided $29 million in RTRP funding since 2013, with close to $17 million directly awarded to Johns Hopkins.
  • Researchers hope to begin clinical trials with the cooling technology for kidney transplants in humans in 2026.

The players

Gerald Brandacher

Professor and scientific director of the Reconstructive Transplantation Program in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Damon Cooney

Associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery and clinical director of the Johns Hopkins Face Transplant Program.

Byoung Chol Oh

Assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, focusing on minimizing immunosuppressant medications.

Christina Kaufman

Associate professor in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at the University of Louisville and scientific director of the UofL Health VCA Program, involved in the first U.S. hand transplant.

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What they’re saying

“The breakthrough we're aiming for is that time would no longer matter in transplantation.”

— Gerald Brandacher, Professor and scientific director, Reconstructive Transplantation Program (Mirage News)

“These battlefield injuries are some of the most devastating injuries you can see, where reconstruction isn't possible and transplant is the only option.”

— Damon Cooney, Associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery (Mirage News)

“To restore that to a level of relative normal can be transformative. We don't understand what a gift it is being normal and how hard it is, especially in our society, to not be normal.”

— Christina Kaufman, Associate professor, University of Louisville (Mirage News)

What’s next

Researchers hope to begin clinical trials with the cooling technology for kidney transplants in humans in 2026, before moving to more complex vascularized composite allograft (VCA) procedures.

The takeaway

The intersection of research to extend organ preservation time and minimize anti-rejection medications could dramatically improve transplant success rates, opening up new opportunities for more transplants, better matching, and improved outcomes for recipients. This work supported by the DOD has the potential to transform the lives of wounded service members and civilian transplant patients alike.