16 minHealthScientists treat the liver outside the body for 3 days and transplant it into the patient
Doctors from the University of Zurich (Switzerland) managed to preserve a liver outside the human body for three days and then transplant it into a patient. The unusual feat was described in a scientific article published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
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The liver in question belonged to a 29-year-old woman, but there was an injury, which is why it needed to undergo treatment for at least 24 hours (twice the time that an organ can remain outside the human body and without the conservation normally used). . for transplants).
With this issue in hand, doctors resorted to a technique called ex situ normothermic perfusion and supplied the organ with blood, mimicking the pressure and body temperature of a living organism. The equipment also helped to imitate the rhythm of human breathing and monitor the production of bile (an essential substance for the absorption of vitamins).
The team even primed the liver on the machine with various drugs, making it suitable for transplant, although it was originally not approved because of its poor quality. Doctors offered the liver to a 62-year-old cancer patient who was on the transplant waiting list, and after her consent, the organ was transplanted.
Scientists preserve the liver outside the body for 3 days and transplant it into a patient (Image: Icetray/Envato)
The man was able to leave the hospital a few days after the transplant and is now doing well. “The patient quickly recovered a normal quality of life, without any signs of liver damage, such as rejection or damage to the bile ducts, according to a one-year follow-up,” according to the study.
"I am so gratefull. Due to the rapid progression of my tumor, I had little chance of getting a liver off the waiting list in a reasonable amount of time,” said the liver transplant recipient.
