Liver treated in a machine successfully transplanted

In Zurich, the Liver4Life project research team of medical doctors, biologists and engineers successfully transplanted a damaged human liver into a person with cancer after treating it outside the body in a machine for three days. Scientists state that 1 year has passed since the operation and that there has been no problem.

May offer new avenue for liver transplant

Thanks to a perfusion machine they developed in 2020, the team managed to increase the survival time of a liver outside the body to seven days. The machine also makes it possible to perform processes such as liver regeneration and oncological treatments.

To achieve all these processes, the machine mimics the human body to provide ideal conditions for human livers. A pump takes over the heart, an oxygenator for the lungs, and a dialysis unit for the kidneys. In addition, numerous infusions of hormones and nutrients perform the functions of the intestine and pancreas.

After the tests carried out, the first human study was done in May 2021. A 62-year-old man, who was waiting in line on the transplant list and said, “I had little chance of getting a liver off the waiting list in a reasonable amount of time,” because of his rapidly progressing tumor, was the first patient to have the machine tested.

A liver that was not considered suitable for transplantation under normal conditions was treated with drugs in the machine for three days, and then the patient was transplanted. In a new statement, it was stated that the patient left the hospital a few days after the transplant and the patient’s current condition is good.

Mark Tibbitt, professor of macromolecular engineering at ETH Zurich: “The interdisciplinary approach to solving the complex biomedical challenges involved in this project is the future of medicine. This will allow us to use new findings even faster to treat patients.” said.

The next step in the Liver4Life project is to prove that the procedure is safe as an alternative route for patients awaiting a liver transplant in an emergency. In addition, the team states that they will continue to develop the machine.