Researchers work to increase number of transplantable livers

New findings lay groundwork for turning previously unusable donor livers into transplantable organs

2021-04-26

(Press-News.org) Thousands of livers donated for transplantation are discarded or turned down every year due to concerns about organ quality and function. New insights into why these organs are considered unusable and how they function during external perfusion could help save lives by greatly increasing the number of livers that are transplantable.

After a liver is removed from a donor's body, it undergoes a process known as perfusion which flows blood or a blood replacement though the organ's blood vessels to keep them open and active before the transplantation surgery.

"Our new findings will allow us to design therapies that could be used during external perfusion to improve the quality of organs so that these livers can be transplanted instead of being discarded," said Jennifer Sanders, PhD, from Rhode Island Hospital. "This could potentially increase the number of transplantable livers by hundreds to thousands per year."

Sanders will present the research at the END

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Researchers work to increase number of transplantable livers

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