Researchers have succeeded in developing a valid alternative to organ transplantation by cultivating livers in humans. This could save thousands of lives.
Due to the continuous development of medical devices and methods, we already have a variety of options at our disposal. But there are still many areas where people wait in vain for rescue every day. One example is organ transplantation. Because if no suitable donor is available, time will determine the actual outcome. Maybe that will change in the future.
Scientists are already researching growing organs in pigs. Well a research team is trying it out for the first time, to grow a new, smaller liver inside a human. Biotechnology company LyGenesis recently announced that a first volunteer has received an injection of donor cells.
The goal is to convert a lymph node into a secondary liver. The procedure took place on March 25, 2024 in Houston and is part of a clinical trial testing the experimental treatment in 12 adults with end-stage liver disease.
Liver culture in humans could save thousands of lives in the United States alone
Patients with this advanced stage of the disease usually require a liver transplant. But there is often a lack of donor organs. LyGenesis hopes to avoid the need for a transplant by growing healthy liver tissue. About 10,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list for a liver transplant. Many wait months or years for an organ.
LyGenesis uses donated livers that are not immediately suitable for transplant. The company isolates and purifies hepatocytes (the most common cells in the liver) and collects them in an IV bag. Medical staff then inject these cells into the patient’s body. The choice falls on a lymph node that is close enough to the liver to benefit from the repair signals from the damaged liver.
“Replacement liver” takes over important functions of the broken liver
The approach is based on early experiments by Eric Lagasse, a professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh. He found that when he injected healthy liver cells into the lymph nodes of mice, the cells thrived and formed a second, smaller liver. This then takes over the functions that the faulty liver cannot perform.
The treatment could provide a life-saving alternative to liver transplantation for some patients. In addition, liver diseases could be better treated in the long term and the chances of success increased. For many patients, the wait for a donor organ is now over.
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