Cleveland Clinic surgeons are using new technology to help preserve livers before they are transplanted.

Dr. David Reich, surgical director of the liver transplant program, said storing an organ to be transplanted in an ice cooler is not the healthiest way of sustaining that organ. That’s why new technology is being developed to help keep the organ alive.

Perfusion methods are better for pumping oxygenated blood to a liver outside of the body, Reich said.

This also gives surgeons a chance to better examine the liver and determine if it’s healthy enough to be transplanted.

They see better results from this method. Patients go home from the hospital sooner and have fewer complications. They also have better safety in the operating room during transplants and during post-operative and longer-term course of treatment.

There is still more research to be done on this new technology, said Dr. Reich, but it is already showing a lot of promise and starting to be used for other types of organ transplants.