Researchers at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, have achieved a feat for medicine. Doctors managed to preserve a human liver in a machine outside the body for three days and then implant the recovered organ into a cancer patient.
The technique was released this week by the team, revealing that, after a year, the patient is in good health. The findings were published in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology on Tuesday (31).
The machine used in the procedure simulates the activity of the human body as accurately as possible, with the aim of providing the ideal conditions for the preservation of the human liver. A pump works as a replacement heart, an oxygenator replaces the lungs, and a dialysis unit performs the functions of the kidneys.
In addition, numerous infusions of hormones and nutrients perform the functions of the intestine and pancreas. Like the diaphragm in the human body, the machine also moves the liver to the rhythm of human breathing.
Recovery in three days
The multidisciplinary Zurich research team had already demonstrated, in January 2020, the ability of organ storage technology outside the body for several days. The work was carried out in collaboration with the University Hospital of Zurich (USZ), the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and the University of Zurich (UZH).
So that it could be retrieved in the machine, the researchers also used different drugs. The combination of drugs with the action of technology made it possible to transform the liver into a good human organ. The organ’s mechanical circulation enables antibiotic or hormonal therapies or the optimization of hepatic metabolism, for example.
In addition, lengthy laboratory or tissue tests can be performed without time pressure, according to experts. Under normal circumstances this is not possible because organs can only be stored for 12 hours in the conventional manner on ice and in commercially available perfusion machines.
With the liver available, doctors gave the option of a transplant to a cancer patient who was on the Swiss waiting list. With consent, the organ was transplanted in May 2021. A few days after the surgery, the patient was discharged and, a year later, is in good health, according to the team.
“I am very grateful for the organ that saves lives. Due to my rapidly progressing tumor, I had little chance of getting a liver off the waiting list within a reasonable period of time,” the patient said in a statement.
“Our therapy shows that by treating livers in the perfusion machine, it is possible to alleviate the lack of functioning human organs and save lives,” says Pierre-Alain Clavien, Director of the Department of Surgery and Visceral Transplantation at the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) , in a statement.
Mark Tibbitt, professor of macromolecular engineering at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), adds: “The interdisciplinary approach to solving complex biomedical challenges embodied in this project is the future of medicine. This will allow us to use new findings even more quickly to treat patients.”
The next steps of the project involve reviewing the procedure in other patients and demonstrating its efficacy and safety in the form of a study at different research centers. For specialists, the success of the method may indicate transformations in the field of transplants and treatment of liver diseases.
Source: CNN Brasil
