Sydney scientists have kept two human livers alive outside the body for a week and, in a world-first study that could revolutionise the way scientists trial medicines, tested powerful new gene therapies on the donated organs. An organ-preserving machine, nicknamed a “liver in a box”, nourished the organs with blood and plasma, drained away bile, kept the livers at body temperature and allowed the researchers to tweak pH, CO₂ and oxygen levels.
An example of a normothermic perfusion machine (not the one used in the study). The machines keep livers alive, metabolising glucose and producing bile for days outside the body.For the first time, scientists tested a range of new therapies directly on the organs, advancing their understanding of treatments that could one day address more than 7000 genetic diseases and other afflictions, including cancer. Researchers often test the safety and potency of new medicines on cultured cells, tissues grown with stem cells, or lab animals such as mic