Cutting-edge Machine at MUSC Extends Viability of Donor Livers for Transplant
In the heart of Charleston, South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has introduced a life-saving, cutting-edge technological solution to extend the viability of donor livers for transplants. This groundbreaking innovation comes amidst a shortage of liver donors despite a record year for liver transplants in the U.S.
The Normothermic Perfusion Machine at MUSC
The normothermic perfusion machine, a pioneering technology at MUSC, holds the potential to maintain the health and longevity of donor livers following the harvesting process. “You run two units of blood through the machine itself, or through the liver. It’s connected to flow and pressure valves, so you can see how well the blood flows through the liver. So, we can see how it would work in the human body,” says Dr. Tracy Rice, an assistant professor of Surgery at MUSC. MUSC is leading the charge as the first institution in South Carolina to utilize this state-of-the-art technology, and is amongst only twenty centers nationwide who have adopted this technique.
Expanding the Horizons for Transplant Surgery
The machine not only improves liver quality but significantly increases the window of time available to perform a transplant surgery. “We can put it on the pump and you can store it up to 24 hours, really potentially even longer as some research is suggesting,” informs Dr. Rice. “It gives us a lot more time to bring a recipient into the hospital, get them ready for transplant and also test how the liver’s working. It gives us a lot more time to carry out the transplant safely.”
Another unique advantage of the machine is its ability to make a far more accurate assessment of the donor liver’s viability than the human eye. Around 70% of livers previously deemed unsuitable for transplant have been reassessed and used successfully, leading to significant improvements in overall organ utilization. Further studies have indicated that the transplanted livers have shown equivalent or sometimes better outcomes than those which were not assessed by the machine.
Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges
Since the machine was introduced in October, MUSC, which carries out approximately 60 liver transplants per year, intends to increase the use of this technology in the upcoming months. Dr. Rice suggests, “Can we now make these fatty livers better? Can we de-fat the liver, for example? Or if the donors have infections, can we clear the infection on the machine before we put it into the patient? We’re all together making them a lot safer. It’s giving us the data to make it safe, but the next steps that people are doing is to make the livers better quality.”
Despite these strides forward, the journey is far from over. There are 110 people in South Carolina currently on MUSC’s waiting list for a donor liver, marking a significant challenge ahead. However, the introduction of the normothermic perfusion machine at MUSC represents a promising leap forward in increasing liver transplant success rates and offers a beacon of hope for thousands of patients in need throughout the country.
