Event Celebrates Launch of New NAT Laboratory

Laboratory personnel were recently recognized at Strong Memorial Hospital at an event celebrating the launch of the new nucleic acid testing (NAT) laboratory.

The new FDA-approved lab, which officially opened in February, performs serologic testing to screen for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. These results must be obtained before a consenting donor’s organ can legally be transplanted into a recipient.

Prior to the launch, the closest FDA lab that did this testing was located in Philadelphia. Establishing the new lab has significantly reduced the amount of turnaround time for these lifesaving procedures.

Representatives from URMC, the Finger Lakes Donor Recovery Network (FLDRN) and regional organ procurement organizations came together on July 26 to recognize and thank the laboratory personnel who are on call 24/7 to perform this testing when needed.

“Bringing NAT testing here to Rochester really shortens the time, which helps donor organs to be more viable and more appropriate for the recipients, so we really are quite thankful that this team was able to make this testing possible,” said Kathy Parrinello, Chief Operating Officer of URMC.

Since it first opened, the lab has processed tests for 44 donors. It services Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany with hopes to expand this service area in the future.   

“We do this because we in the laboratory are uniquely qualified to do this little piece of transplant testing,” said Dr. Dwight Hardy, Director of Clinical Microbiology at URMC. “We do it to be responsible members of the medical center community and Finger Lakes community, to see that organs that are to be potentially transplanted in patients are safe.”

Surgeons like Dr. Roberto Hernandez Alejandro, Chief of Transplantation Surgery at URMC, see many benefits to having NAT testing under the same roof.

“There was a huge push for doing this in a short period of time because families were requesting it,” said Hernandez Alejandro. “For those (surgeons) that are saving organs for transplantations, this is a great benefit.”

He explained that although this testing happens behind the scenes, no transplant can occur without it.  

“It’s a huge part of transplantation,” he said. “Helping just one donor and saving one life is huge.” 

Read more about the NAT Lab

Bethany Bushen | 8/3/2017

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