Bridge to Life Raises $110 Million to Introduce Cold Oxygenated Perfusion for Donor Livers

Bridge to Life Raises $110 Million to Introduce Cold Oxygenated Perfusion for Donor Livers

On August 12, Bridge to Life announced $110 million in new equity and debt financing. The company will use the funds to introduce VitaSmart, a cold oxygenated perfusion system for donor livers, at transplant centers across the United States and to develop a separate tool for assessing whether a liver is suitable for transplantation.

Donor livers are usually stored at a low temperature without fluid circulation. VitaSmart is connected after this period of storage and before transplantation. A pump circulates a chilled, oxygenated solution through the liver. In January 2026, the system received FDA authorization through the De Novo pathway specifically for this stage. The system monitors temperature, pressure, flow rate, and the oxygen saturation of the solution.

Perfusion supplies the liver with oxygen before blood flow is restored in the recipient. A 2023 meta-analysis of 11 studies involving 1000 patients found that cold oxygenated perfusion was associated with lower rates of bile duct complications, early dysfunction of the transplanted liver, and graft loss during the first year compared with conventional cold storage. The studies used different systems, so the findings apply to the HOPE method as a whole.

Marginal donor livers are especially difficult to assess. These organs carry an increased risk of complications and may be rejected by the transplant team before surgery. During perfusion, the solution can be tested for substances associated with liver cell injury and function. LungFX already addresses a similar problem at a different temperature: after cold storage, the system provides time to reassess a donor lung before transplantation. The investigational system from Bridge to Life is intended to use such measurements to support decisions about individual livers.

The financing supports two objectives: expanding access to the authorized system and turning a separate viability assessment tool into a product. Perfusion preserves the donor liver before transplantation and gives the team more evidence on which to decide whether to use it.