Tag Archives: Human Livers

Medical Innovations: Researchers Successfully “Supercool” Human Livers For Later Transplant

From an MIT Technology Review online article:

Doctors have put human livers in suspended animation - MIT Technology ReviewResearchers say they’ve successfully plunged human livers to subzero temperatures and then warmed them back up.

The “supercooled” organs were still in good shape after 27 hours, adding nearly a day to how long livers can last outside the body.

The supply of donor hearts, kidneys, and livers from accident victims is sharply limited. In the US, a nationwide system of registries and transplant centers coordinates to move them around by air in coolers for what are invariably emergency surgeries.

The research is part of a wider effort to learn how to keep organs operational outside the body for longer periods of time. 

To read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614283/doctors-have-put-human-livers-in-suspended-animation/?utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=76642352&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_y-4VMsKkIwnBGtCLujBv0huOO8iZmVLSHmpZKga1LGyMuwA7smhGhHb-93ZZm9yIU9jR1xGWj9jujn8i-r8U3O0NAOA&_hsmi=76642352