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British surgeons said they have performed successful
liver transplants on two patients using a revolutionary technique which
keeps the organ warm and functioning while outside the body.
The team, working at King's College Hospital in London, said the
procedure could significantly increase the number of organs available
for transplantation.
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Donor organs are currently put on ice while awaiting transplantation to
slow their metabolism, but this often leads to them being damaged.
If the original organ was already damaged in some way, it is often
rendered unusable.
The new technology, developed over 20 years by engineers at Oxford
University, keeps the liver "warm" by circulating red blood cells
through its capillaries.
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Once on the machine, the liver functions as it would inside a human
body, regaining its colour and producing bile.
"It was astounding to see an initially cold grey liver flushing with
colour once hooked up to our machine and performing as it would within
the body," Constantin Coussios, Oxford University professor and one of
the machine's inventors, said.
"What was even more amazing was to see the same liver transplanted into
a patient who is now walking around."
The technology is still in its early stages, but its successful use in
two transplants at King's College Hospital last month has raised hopes
that it could be a game-changer.
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Wayel Jassem, consultant liver-transplant surgeon at King's College
Hospital who performed the two operations, said it gives doctors more
time to test the liver to maximise the chance of a successful outcome.
"This technology has the potential to be hugely significant, and could
make more livers available for transplant, and in turn save lives," he
said.
There is huge demand for liver transplants, with 30,000 people in Europe
and the United States currently on waiting lists, a quarter of whom will
die before they have the operation, the team says.
But more than 2,000 livers are discarded every year because they are
either damaged by oxygen deprivation or do not survive being put on ice. |