World Premiere in Zurich: Machine Keeps Human Livers Alive for One Week Outside of the Body
May 07, 2020 | 12:50 / Interesting information
Researchers from the University Hospital Zurich, ETH Zurich, Wyss Zurich and the University of Zurich have developed a machine that repairs injured human livers and keeps them alive outside the body for one week. This breakthrough may increase the number of available organs for transplantation, saving many lives of patients with severe liver diseases or cancer. Until now, livers could be stored safely outside the body for only a few hours. With the novel perfusion technology, livers - and even injured livers - can now be kept alive outside of the body for an entire week. Injured cadaveric livers, initially not suitable for use in transplantation, may regain full function while perfused in the new machine for several days. The basis for this technology is a complex perfusion system, mimicking most core body functions close to physiology.
