Scientists triple storage time of human donor livers

Massachusetts General Hospital

Like a glass container broken by frozen water, when cells freeze, they often experience irreparable damage. Since human cells are especially sensitive, donor livers are stored above freezing at 4 degrees Celsius. As a result, doctors can typically only preserve human livers for nine hours before the chances of a successful transplantation drastically decrease.

However, while the techniques worked with the rat livers in those earlier studies, it was unsuccessful when applied to human livers, which are 200 times larger. The size difference significantly increased the risk that ice crystals would start to spontaneously form , making the organ unusable for transplantation. In a paper published in Nature Biotechnology on Sept. 9, Reinier de Vries, M.D., a research fellow in surgery, Shannon Tessier, Ph.D.

Next, the researchers included two additional ingredients to the protective solution to help protect the hepatocytes. The first additive, trehalose, helps to protect the cell as well as stabilize the cell membranes. The second, glycerol, supports the protective properties of the 3-OMG glucose compound added in the previous experiments. Both additives have been used in the cryogenic preservation of cells in the laboratory but had not been used in the preservation of organs for transplantation.

NIH 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏

NIH This is amazing!! What a beautiful success story for us all. Congratulations on your accomplishment!

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