Wednesday 3 August 2022 04:06 PM Technology found to be able to keep heart, liver and kidney cells alive for ... trends now

Wednesday 3 August 2022 04:06 PM Technology found to be able to keep heart, liver and kidney cells alive for ... trends now
Wednesday 3 August 2022 04:06 PM Technology found to be able to keep heart, liver and kidney cells alive for ... trends now

Wednesday 3 August 2022 04:06 PM Technology found to be able to keep heart, liver and kidney cells alive for ... trends now

Organ transplant breakthrough? Researchers develop compound that can maintain heart, liver and kidney cells for six hours after death - a tool that could quell a massive shortage A Yale University team has developed OrganEx, a compound that can keep organs alive for up to six hours after death They tested the compound of pigs that they had killed via inducing cardiac arrest The compound showed the ability to prevent inflammation and blood vessel collapse that stops blood circulation and kills organs after death Researchers are hopeful that their findings will open the door to make more human organs available in the future - quelling a national shortage 

View
comments

A new technology can keep organ cells alive for hours after the rest of the body dies in a breakthrough that experts hope can quell the dire need for more transplantable hearts, kidneys and livers.

Researchers at Yale University developed 'OrganEx' - an offshoot of the breakthrough 'BrainEx' technology designed by scientists at the New Haven, Connecticut school in 2019. The device delivers fluid containing compounds that boost cellular health and prevent inflammation into the organs - keeping them alive for up to six hours after the rest of the body dies.

This research was performed on pigs, but the team is hopeful that their experimental process will be effective on human organs as well. If so, it could significantly boost the supply of available hearts, kidneys and livers for transplant - and even help extend the lives of some people stuck on the waiting list.

With more than 105,000 Americans waiting for an organ transplant - and 17 dying each day - researchers are hoping these findings can help improve and extend the lives of millions down the line.

A research team at Yale University found that a new compound OrganEx could maintain organs from a dead pig for up to six hours after death (file photo)

A research team at Yale University found that a new compound OrganEx could maintain organs from a dead pig for up to six hours after death (file photo)

The research team, who published their findings on Wednesday in Nature, induced cardiac arrest on anesthetized pigs to determine how their bodily functions would react to the compound.

They used a device similar to machines that keep the heart and lungs pumping during surgery to prop the pigs' organs while delivering them the substance.

Six hours after death, areas of key cell function were still active in the pigs' bodies and some organ functioning had even been restored after death.

Two New York patients successfully receive pig organ transplants without showing signs of rejecting them

Doctors have made a break through in the practice of xenotransplantation after successfully importing two genetically engineered pig hearts into human bodies.

A team of surgeons at NYU Langone Health, in New York City, performed the operations on two patients that were brain dead but still breathing via life support on June 19 and July 9.

In

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT Health service initiative offers patients a chance to see a GP on the same day ... trends now