Viability assessment: Current approaches and evolving standards

Dr. Andrea Schlegel is an academic transplant surgeon at Cleveland Clinic specialized in liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery. Dr. Schlegel’s interests include both, experimental and clinical research with a focus on organ preservation to improve the utilization of human organs. To ensure utmost safety for transplant recipients, Dr. Schlegel’s lab explores underlying mechanisms of mitochondrial injury and protection throughout the entire journey of an organ from the donor to the recipient.
Dr. Schlegel obtained her medical degree with Honors from the Justus-Liebig-University Giessen (Germany). She completed her research fellowship and residency at the University Hospital Zurich (Switzerland), where she also served as Chief Resident and Staff Surgeon with a focus on quality improvement and patient safety in abdominal surgery and transplantation. She went on to complete her Transplant Surgery and Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Surgery fellowship training at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Birmingham (United Kingdom) and was awarded with a Staff position as Transplant Surgeon before moving to Italy (Careggi Hospital Florence and Milan Policlinico), where she achieved the “National Scientifica Qualification” as Full Professor (06/C1 - General Surgery). 
Since 2011 her research is focused on a broad range of topics including dynamic organ preservation in context of transplantation, the development of new markers to predict organ viability, and underlying mechanisms of ischemia and reperfusion injury triggered by mitochondrial injury and dysfunction. 
Dr. Schlegel serves as Associated Editor and Reviewer in more than 15 leading journals in the field of surgery and transplantation and has various international collaborations worldwide with an average number of 20 invited lectures and presentations per year.
Dr. Schlegel is board certified in General Surgery (FMH), Transplant Surgery (EBSQ/UEMS) and Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Surgery (EBSQ/UEMS) and obtained a Master in Business Administration (MBA, specialized in International Healthcare Management) from the Robert Kennedy College (Switzerland) and University of Cumbria (United Kingdom).

Topics covered:

• Key biomarkers and functional parameters
• HOPE‑specific viability insights vs. traditional assessment
• Impact of perfusion duration and graft type
• Considerations for extended criteria donors