Artificial liver will help wait for the turn for transplantation

In China, an artificial liver was created, in which human cells are present for better compatibility. According to experts, such an artificial liver will prolong the life of patients who are waiting for the transplantation operation, since most patients simply do not wait their turn to transplant the donor organ.

In China, for more than 15 years, the liver, grown in the laboratory, has been used to help patients wait for the donor organ. But earlier, pig cells were used to create such a liver, but at the Shanghai Institute, specialists were able to grow a liver that is suitable for temporary transplantation to a person who is waiting for the turnaround for a transplant operation .

To reduce the probability of rejection of an artificial organ, specialists used human cells from fat, skin and other tissues that are capable of reprogramming themselves for liver enzymes.  

Specialists conducted tests on animals and experiments showed clearly that in pigs that suffered from liver failure and who were transplanted to the artificial liver in 80% of cases remained alive. In the group where the animals were not transplanted temporary organ, death occurred within 3 days.

The head of the project, Dean Itao, also noted that the first clinical trials involving human subjects showed positive results. The artificial organ was transplanted to a 61-year-old patient suffering from acute liver failure. Scientists note that after the operation the patient feels quite normal, and the temporary body will allow to gain time until the moment of the donor organ transplant operation.   

The liver, like other internal organs of man, works around the clock, however, there are some differences in its work. This body is forced to tolerate all our bad habits, stresses, as well as the negative impact of the environment. The liver has a huge number of functions - neutralization of harmful substances that have got into the body, participation in the process of digestion, support of constancy in the body and much more. When hepatic failure affects the liver cells, which causes disruption in the work and a decrease in the basic functions of the body, resulting in increased blood levels of toxins and degradation products and begins severe intoxication. With this pathology, a hepatic coma often develops; a complete failure of the liver and brain damage by toxic substances trapped in the blood, as a result, death occurs.

In the world of liver failure, more than 50% of patients die, annually from this pathology kills about 2 thousand people.

Experts in 15% of cases find it difficult to explain the cause of this pathology, but most often liver cell damage is caused by the abuse of alcohol, drugs, viral hepatitis.

It is worth noting that paracetamol, which is familiar to everyone, can provoke liver failure, while the disease is characterized by rapid development (fulminant liver failure).