Donor organ body clocks and transplant success
Organ donor circadian clocks in transplantation acceptance
This project tests whether the donor organ's internal day–night clock affects how well transplanted lungs and other solid organs work for people receiving them.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11248357 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will measure day–night signals in organ donors (for example core body temperature and cortisol) and examine molecular clock activity in transplantable organs like the lungs. They will combine human donor and recipient data with lab experiments that alter the key clock gene Bmal1 in mouse donor organs or recipients to see how clocks change graft injury. The team will look for links between donor clock status, timing of surgery, and primary graft dysfunction after transplant. The goal is to identify whether donor clocks are a modifiable factor that could guide timing or treatments to improve transplant outcomes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People listed for lung or other solid-organ transplants, and families of deceased donors approached for organ or tissue donation, would be the ideal candidates to participate or provide samples.
Not a fit: People who are not transplant candidates or whose complications are unrelated to donor or recipient circadian biology are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help clinicians time organ retrieval or give targeted treatments to lower graft dysfunction and improve transplant success.
How similar studies have performed: Some clinical reports link time of day to graft outcomes and animal studies implicate clock genes like Bmal1, but directly targeting donor organ clocks is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Haspel, Jeffrey Adam — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Haspel, Jeffrey Adam
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.