New technique could save livers rejected for transplant

LIVERS damaged by alcohol and obesity could be saved and used for transplants by treating them with oxygenated blood, a study has suggested.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham said rejected donations could be deemed eligible for surgery if they underwent a pioneering technique known as liver perfusion.

About a third of donated livers are rejected because they are not considered to be of good enough quality for transplantation. But, scientists found up to 70 per cent of discarded livers could be suitable for operations if they were treated by a perfusion machine.

The process sees donated livers supplied with oxygenated blood, and sometimes nutrients or medicines, with the aim of reducing damage.

Scientists said the technique meant more discarded organs could be salvaged, even those from donors “with known alcohol misuse or obesity”.

A perfusion machine also allows the liver’s function to be assessed before it is transplanted, and can increase how long the liver can be stored.

At the moment, donor livers are stored with cold fluid and ice until they are transplanted into a patient.

The researchers believe their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrate that a large number of donor livers which are currently rejected could be used in the future and reduce NHS waiting lists.

Prof Darius Mirza, a consultant transplant surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and one of the study authors, said: “During this process the liver begins to function and behave in a similar way to how it would if it was transplanted, which allows surgeons to assess whether a liver will function following transplantation before it is transplanted into a patient.”

On average, 260 liver transplants take place at University Hospitals Birmingham each year and the waiting list has about 150 people on it.