New Technology Could Expand the Supply of Donor Livers

A new transplant technology being used in Montreal could help doctors make more donated livers suitable for transplantation — potentially giving more patients access to life-saving organs.

In August, the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) reported what it described as the first North American liver transplant using an organ treated with its new regeneration approach. The recipient was a 64-year-old Quebec man who had lived with liver disease for approximately 15 years and later developed cirrhosis and liver cancer.

The technology uses a machine called Liver Assist to keep a donated liver functioning outside the body while doctors evaluate and treat it before transplantation.

Rather than relying only on traditional cold preservation, the system circulates oxygenated fluid through the liver. This process can allow an organ affected by oxygen deprivation during donation and transport to recover. Doctors can then use a blood-based solution to assess how well the liver functions under conditions designed to more closely resemble those inside the human body.

The potential benefit is significant because some donated livers that might previously have been considered unsuitable for transplantation could potentially be reassessed and used.

CHUM performs approximately 70 liver transplants annually. According to the hospital team, an analysis conducted with Transplant Québec suggests the technology could potentially make an additional 20 to 24 donated livers available for transplantation during its first year of use.

The technology may offer benefits beyond increasing the organ supply. The CHUM transplant team says research indicates this type of organ-preservation technology may help reduce complications, repeat operations and hospital stays in appropriate patients.

The Quebec recipient reportedly showed encouraging signs soon after his operation, including better-than-expected blood test results the following day. He continues to recover while receiving regular follow-up care.

While technologies such as machine perfusion could improve how donated organs are preserved, assessed and ultimately used, they cannot address the shortage of donor organs by themselves.

The development highlights two increasingly important areas of transplant medicine: finding ways to safely use more donated organs and encouraging people to consider and discuss organ donation with their families.

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