MacRobert honours groundbreaking organ technology
16 Jul 2025
An Oxford university spin-out has claimed one of British engineering’s leading awards for its technology that has helped transform organ transplant treatment.
OrganOx won the MacRobert Award – billed as the longest running UK engineering trophy – and won £50,000 in prize money.
Its inventions were described as “two of the most complex medical devices ever designed and built in the UK”.
The technology enables liver and kidney to function outside the human body for twice as long as traditional cold preservation approaches.
As a result, says the company, the number of transplants capable of being done has increased, helping to contribute to reductions in waiting lists when applied.
Chair of the award judging panel, Dr Alison Vincent added: “OrganOx has developed a truly game-changing and life-saving innovation that is at the forefront of efforts to increase the number of donor organs available for transplantation.”
Organ Ox co-founder professor Constantin Coussios (pictured), who created the firm with liver transplant surgeon professor Peter Friend. He described the reward for their two decades spent trying to control and emulate the liver and kidney as “immense”.
“Each quality-assured organ that has functioned effectively in our devices outside the body saves the life of a patient, over 6,000 to date, and gives that patient and their loved ones the gift of time and a quality of life previously thought irreclaimable,” said Coussios.
“This achievement and the many more to come would not have been possible without the academic, technological and translational excellence of the UK innovation ecosystem.”
