The first liver transplant is preserved outside the body for 3 days
According to the American Organ Sharing Network, the liver is the second most commonly transplanted organ after the kidneys.
One person waits for an organ transplant every 9 minutes.
Although the percentage of organ donors is increasing, the source of organs for transplantation is always lacking.
Dr. Robert S. Brown, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital of Zurich, said that preserving donated organs with an infusion machine can take organs that have not been transplanted before, making them implantable, increasing access to organs for patients.
This method increases the quality of transplanted organs due to the prolonged life span, the doctor can intervene to make the donated organs work better.
Swiss doctors have successfully transplanted a human liver preserved for 3 days using the world’s first infusion machine.
In organ transplantation, the transplanted organ must be compatible with the recipient and must maintain that the organ remains active during the transition from donor to recipient until surgery.
According to the traditional method, during movement, the implanted organ is preserved at a very low temperature.
This process is time-limited (the liver only survives 8-12 hours when kept in cold storage) and can damage organ tissue.
For this reason, scientists have been working on new ways to keep donor organs alive without too cold temperatures.
Published in the journal Natural Biotechnology in late May, doctors at the University Hospital zurich used an infusion machine to keep the liver alive for three days, then successfully transplanted a patient.
This is the world’s first donated liver transplant that is maintained by an infusion machine, without the need for extremely cold temperatures.
After a year, the transplanted patient’s liver is still working well.
