Extended preservation of donor livers through prolonged hypothermic machine perfusion
2024
University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
Liver transplantation is traditionally performed around the clock to minimize organ ischemic time. However, the prospect of prolonging preservation times holds the potential to streamline logistics and transform liver transplantation into a semi-elective procedure, reducing the need for nighttime surgeries. Dual hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (DHOPE) of donor livers for 1–2 h mitigates ischemia-reperfusion injury and improves transplant outcomes. Here, an prospective clinical trial was conducted to compare prolonged (≥4 h) DHOPE to conventional (1–2 h) DHOPE for donor livers. The median preservation time was 14.5 h for the prolonged group and 7.9 h for the control group. In each group, three patients experienced serious adverse events. Markers of ischemia-reperfusion injury and oxidative stress in both perfusate and recipients were consistently low and showed no notable discrepancies between the two groups. This first-in-human clinical trial demonstrates the safety and feasibility of DHOPE in prolonging the preservation time of donor livers to enable daytime transplantation.
Prolonged hypothermic machine perfusion enables daytime liver transplantation – an IDEAL stage 2 prospective clinical trial
Vincent E. de Meijer
Added on: 05-27-2024
[1] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00588-6/fulltext
