New Technology Benefits Liver Transplants
Physician from global health system Cleveland Clinic highlights the benefits of using new technology to help improve liver transplants
When it comes to organ donations, every second counts, and that is why surgeons at global health system Cleveland Clinic are using new technology to help preserve livers before they are transplanted.
“Many have seen the ice coolers that we use to store the organ between the donor and the recipient. And when we get back to the transplant center, we take the organ off ice and do the transplant, but ice storage is not the healthiest way of sustaining an organ that’s going to be transplanted,” explained David Reich, MD, surgical director of the liver transplant program for Cleveland Clinic Florida. “And so, the new machine perfusion technologies that we have keep the organ somewhat alive between the donor and the recipient.”
Dr. Reich said that by using perfusion methods, surgeons are able to pump oxygenated blood or solution through a donor’s liver outside the body. This, in turn, can help improve the quality of the organ. “It also gives surgeons a chance to better examine the liver and determine if it is healthy enough to be transplanted, or they can further rejuvenate the liver,” he adds.
Research shows perfusion has helped reduce the risk for complications as well, according to Dr. Reich.
“We have better results when we use perfusion. Patients go home from the hospital sooner, they have fewer complications, they have better safety in the operating room during the transplants, and then during their post-operative and longer-term journey,” Dr. Reich noted.
Dr. Reich said research continues on the use of this new technology, but it is already showing a lot of promise and is starting to be used for other types of organ transplants.
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