This Machine Can Preserve Human Liver Outside Body For Days Before Transplant

For the first time, researchers have been able to store and repair a human liver that was termed too damaged for transplant in a machine over three days and then implanted the recovered organ into a cancer patient.

via MedPageToday

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This has been possible thanks to the development of a special machine by the Liver4Life research team from Zurich that can extend the lifespan of human livers.

The paradigm-shifting tech was first demonstrated in January 2020. Dubbed perfusion technology, it allowed researchers to store a liver outside the human body for several days. They say the perfusion machine behaves just like the human body, offering the perfect conditions for a liver to survive.

It consists of a pump that acts as a heart and an oxygenator that performs like lungs. For performing functions of kidneys, they make use of a dialysis machine.

The machine also injects hormones and nutrients to include the functions of the intestines and pancreas. The liver also is set in the motion of human breathing similar to the diaphragm of the human body.

The organ preservation methods in practice today offer less than 12 hours for a liver to survive outside of the human body. But with the help of the perfusion machine, the liver can be preserved, even repaired to some extent for several days at once.

Unsplash

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Researchers transplanted a liver that was treated in this machine, in May 2021 to a cancer patient on the Swiss transplant waiting list after his consent. The patient was able to leave just a few days after the transplant and is living well.

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