Robotics and Organ Preservation in Transplant, With Ari Cohen, MD, MBA

Ochsner Health has performed its 10,000th organ transplant, a milestone that spans kidney, liver, heart, lung, and pancreas transplantation. The program has also completed 40 robotic-assisted kidney transplants and is using organ preservation machines to evaluate donor organs once considered not transplantable.

"Reaching 10,000 transplants is really more than just a number," Ari Cohen, MD, MBA, director of the Transplant Institute at Ochsner Health, said in an interview with HCPLive. "It reflects decades of experience that started back in 1970, when we performed the first heart transplant in the Gulf South, and it's led us to develop a comprehensive, high-volume transplant program."

Multidisciplinary Care Behind 10,000 Organ Transplants

"I'm a surgeon, but to me, the success doesn't just lie with our surgical expertise," Cohen said. "It really relies on multidisciplinary care, ongoing innovation, coordinated access for our patients, the trust of our patients, and the trust that we pass on to our donor families."

He described the milestone in terms of what it means for patients: the opportunity to return home to their families healthy and go on to lead the lives they're supposed to live.

Robotic-Assisted Kidney Transplant Broadens Candidacy

"We've learned that robotic-assisted transplant surgery really has a role within the transplant arena, and it's appropriate for a lot of our patients," Cohen said.

Across the program's 40 robotic-assisted kidney transplants, he pointed to reduced recovery time and increased surgical precision. The approach has also expanded who can be considered for surgery.

"It has also allowed us to broaden the effort, so that people we previously thought were not candidates for transplant surgery can have it done robotically, get a successful transplant, and continue on with their lives," he said.

Organ Preservation Machines Expand the Donor Pool

"Some of the more recent machines that have become available for transplant are commonly called organ pumping machines, but we really view them as having a role in the rehabilitation of some of these organs," Cohen said.

According to Cohen, the machines provide more information about an organ's viability, including whether it is usable and whether it would result in a successful transplant.

"These machines have become critical for our decisions about whether an organ is suitable to transplant, and they've helped us expand the donor pool, because an organ previously thought of as not transplantable can become transplantable after spending some time on one of these machines," he said.

References

1. Ochsner Health. Ochsner Transplant Institute performs 10,000th transplant surgery. News release. August 12, 2026. Accessed September 25, 2026. https://news.ochsner.org/news-releases/ochsner-transplant-institute-performs-10-000th-transplant-surgery/

2. Ochsner Health. Ochsner Transplant Institute. Accessed September 25, 2026. https://www.ochsner.org/services/organ-transplants/