New technologies are often referred to as life-changing, but that
phrase quite literally describes the work that 34
Lives is doing for those awaiting kidney transplants. The
team’s innovative technology “revives” kidneys that might be
otherwise rejected for consideration by transplant surgeons.
The team’s tenacious desire to save lives has resulted in ten
successful kidney rescues and ten lives saved. And they’re just
getting started.
Purdue Research Foundation, the silent engine that supports
transformational innovations, provides a sense of belonging through
ongoing amenities, facilities and vibrant, intentional communities
cultivated for groundbreaking companies like 34 Lives.
34 lives is doing something no other US company is doing today,
by extending the safe preservation time for unused kidneys.
STARTUP FINDS A HOME IN PURDUE
More than 120,000 people in the US are waiting for a life-saving
organ transplant and most of them are waiting for kidneys. When a
patient joins the organ transplant waiting list, years can go by
before a donor match is found. During this time, patients are often
put on a grueling dialysis schedule and can become too sick to
receive the transplant or die waiting. On average, 34 US lives are
lost, daily.
When the company considered where to plant their flag, West
Lafayette just made sense. As Kathleen St. Jean, co-founder and
chief commercial officer, succinctly put it, “Purdue: what’s not to
like?”
After 34 Lives CEO Chris Jaynes’ son became a Purdue
Boilermaker, the team uncovered Purdue’s noncompetitive, neutral
environment with robust resources and a vibrant ecosystem. The
Purdue Research Park has since served as a key hub for 34 Lives,
connecting them with the myriad resources Purdue provides for
innovation.
“We believe West Lafayette and the Purdue University ecosystem
is the perfect fit for our startup,” said Jaynes. “Not only do we
have access to world-class facilities and engineering talent, but
we are able to merge our life-saving technology with Purdue’s
aviation infrastructure. I can’t think of a better
partnership.”
A GIANT LEAP IN LIFE-SAVING TECH
St. Jean notes that getting connected to Purdue resources — and
embracing the ethos of sharing such valuable resources —
accelerates the work that companies like 34 Lives can do. 34 Lives
Chief Scientific Officer Henri Leuvenink even remarked upon his
first visit that 34 Lives was able to do in one year what he’d been
working on for 21 years thanks to the team’s relentless pursuit of
an answer and Purdue’s world-class opportunities.
34 Lives has benefitted immensely from Purdue’s spirit of
innovation and collaboration. Purdue undergrads building the
Kidney 360 Cooler for their senior project. Life-changing
access to Purdue MRI equipment providing vital information to
convince surgeons its worthwhile to take on rejuvenated kidneys.
Flexible workspaces that can facilitate even the most
groundbreaking tech spaces.
For those on the waiting list for a new kidney, embracing such
an ethos could mean everything.
PERFECTLY PLACED IN THE HEART OF THE
MIDWEST
30% of kidneys recovered for transplant are discarded before
they ever reach a recipient. These losses are not only devastating
for those on the waitlist, but also the families who hoped their
loved ones could save a life.
“The whole mission around 34 Lives is centered around ensuring
donated organs can save a life as it was intended,” said St. Jean.
“To ensure we can save lives and honor the wishes of donors, we
needed a holistic ecosystem to work from.”
A perfectly placed facility could change everything. That’s what
34 Lives found at Purdue Research Park, West Lafayette,
Indiana.
Just minutes from Purdue University, the research park is one of
the largest university-affiliated incubation complexes in the
country and unites discovery and delivery. The flexibility of space
in the research park meant the team could custom-build their own
Organ Rescue Labs, two ORs where kidneys are revived and
immediately sent out the door for transplant.
WHEN EVERY SECOND MATTERS
The most critical piece of the kidney-saving puzzle is time. For
every second that ticks by on the clock, kidneys become less and
less viable and surgeons become more and more unwilling to risk a
patient’s life.
When kidneys are transported to hospitals on commercial
airlines, problems quickly arise. Flights can be delayed or missed.
Coolers may be overlooked in cargo areas. Transportation time to
distant hospitals can quickly run out the clock—an acceptable “out
of body” time is approximately 24 hours.
For 34 Lives, the additional time it would take to transport a
kidney from Chicago or Indianapolis airports could mean the
difference between the kidney being recoverable or not. In fact,
St. Jean confirms that if the team hadn’t had access to Purdue’s
regional airport, their fifth successful kidney transplant wouldn’t
have happened.
Enter Purdue University Airport (LAF), the regional airport
located in the Discovery Park District in West Lafayette, less than
five miles from the 34 Lives lab. Echoing the team’s excitement
about finding a neutral environment for their critical work, LAF
has embraced serving as a neutral, in-the-wild space for the
exploration and development of groundbreaking technology, i.e. —
“the space between” — where all are welcome to help innovation
flourish.
Opportunities for first-class collaboration continue to expand
with more high-tech companies taking note. For companies like 34
Lives and their patients, that connected ecosystem is
everything.
With every kidney revived and every life saved, 34 Lives brings
us closer to a future where no patient dies waiting for a
transplant. The partnership with Purdue University exemplifies the
power of collaboration and shared purpose, proving that when
brilliant minds come together, world-changing solutions can become
reality.
About 34 Lives
- 34 Lives is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) headquartered in
the Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, Indiana. The firm is
committed to saving the lives of patients awaiting kidney
transplant by providing innovative solutions that can give
hard-to-place kidneys a second chance and enough time to make it to
a waiting patient.
- A Central Preservation and Assessment Service to Optimize Donor
Kidney Allocation, OPTIMAL, the firm’s research protocol, can be
found at ClinicalTrials.gov. [Identifier NCT06263023]
- 34 Lives has been funded by the National Kidney Foundation
Innovation Fund, Ballad Health, the Niswonger Foundation, and
individual investors.
About Purdue Research
Foundation
Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation
created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in
1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds
scholarships and grants; acquires and sells property; protects and
licenses Purdue's intellectual property; and supports creating
Purdue-connected startups on behalf of Purdue. The foundation
operates Purdue Innovates which includes the Office of Technology
Commercialization, Incubator and Ventures. The foundation manages
the Purdue Research Park, Discovery Park District, Purdue
Technology Centers and Purdue for Life Foundation.
For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact
the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For
more information about involvement and investment opportunities in
startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at
purdueinnovates@prf.org.
- 34 Lives has already saved 10 lives with “unusable” kidneys —
and they’re just getting started
- 34 Lives has already saved 10 lives with “unusable” kidneys —
and they’re just getting started
Polly Barks
Purdue Research Foundation
phbarks@prf.org