Keeping Transplantable Livers Alive for a Week
March 24, 2020 | Terry Sharrer
Transplantable livers are now kept alive for 24 hours while on ice. But a new machine from engineers at the University of Zurich has the possibility of extending that period to a week, and, among other things, allows damaged livers to heal. “The machine re-creates a level of pressure similar to that found inside the body, and pumps oxygen, blood, and nutrients to the livers while removing cell waste products like carbon dioxide. The amounts of nutrients, blood, and oxygen are automatically adjusted by algorithms, meaning the machine doesn’t require constant supervision . . . .” MORE
Image Credit: USZ