The development of a new technology that can significantly increase the storage time of livers for transplantation is expected to provide a new turning point for liver transplantation. In the meantime, even if a liver is donated, the storage time for it is as short as 12 hours, so there is not enough time to find a suitable patient for a transplant.
international journal published in ResultsAccording to the article, the research team led by Pierre-Alain Clavien, a professor of surgery at the University Hospital Zurich, created a machine that partially reproduces the conditions inside the human body, such as a pressure similar to that inside the human body and a temperature of 37 °C. The liver was stored.
The machine removed any remaining fluid inside the liver and monitored bile and protein production. They also supplied antibiotics and antifungals to the liver to treat infections, a common cause of organ transplantation.
The liver used in the study was donated by a 29-year-old woman and was rejected by all transplant centers due to lesions. It takes 24 hours to test if a lesion is benign, which is much longer than the current maximum required from organ donation to transplantation.
The study’s use of a new technology that preserves the liver for a long time gives doctors time to complete a liver biopsy and successfully treat the lesion.
If this method becomes available, other livers with similar problems to the liver used in this study might be used for transplantation, potentially saving more lives.
“70% of livers donated for transplantation in the United States are not being used,” said Clavian. I don’t know if we can help all of those 70%, but I think it’s interesting to try to revive a liver that is not used or a liver that can be used but has a problem for transplantation. The liver used in this study showed surprising results.”
Livers removed from donors are usually kept in ice buckets for up to 12 hours. After 12 hours, hepatocytes are damaged by the cold temperature, reducing the success rate of transplantation. Because the storage time for a donated liver is short, even if a liver is donated, the time to find a suitable patient for transplantation is limited. Therefore, many patients die without even receiving a transplant.
Although further research is needed, the researchers believe that the new storage technology suggested in the study might allow donated livers to be safely stored for up to 12 days. Being able to store the liver for such a long period of time might increase the chances of treating the liver with drugs before transplantation.
The liver transplant recipient in the study was a 62-year-old male patient with several serious liver diseases, including cirrhosis and severe portal hypertension (a condition in which blood pressure rises in the major blood vessels that carry blood from the intestine and spleen to the liver). .
When a liver was transplanted into his body, the liver began to function normally within three days. He took immunosuppressive drugs to avoid the risk of infection following surgery and was discharged 12 days following surgery. The research team checked his health for one year from the day of the liver transplant operation, but found no signs of liver damage or transplant rejection.
The demand for liver transplantation continues to increase, and liver disease The number of patients dying is increasing have. However, the number of transplantable livers continues to be in short supply. USA According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare Currently, there are over 11,000 people waiting for a liver transplant in the United States, and waiting times vary greatly by region.
“We believe this research will revolutionize the treatment of liver disease,” said Clavian. “The evidence is that patients who have undergone liver transplantation are living differently than before, in a healthy way.”
