Illustration of organ perfusion and cellular recovery with OrganEx technology.
The cell-saving blood analog is delivered to vital organs one hour after death.
Credit: Marin Balaic
Yale-developed technology restores cell and organ function in pigs after death, a potential organ transplant breakthrough.
Within just minutes of the final heartbeat, a cascade of biochemical events triggered by a lack of blood flow, nutrients, and oxygen begins to destroy a body’s cells and organs. However, a team of researchers at Yale University has discovered that massive and permanent cellular failure doesn’t have to happen so quickly.
Using a new technology the scientists developed that delivers a specially designed cell-protective fluid to organs and tissues, the team restored blood circulation and other cellular functions in pigs a full hour after their deaths. They report their findings in the August 3 edition of the journal Nature.
Their results may help extend the health of human organs during surgery and expand the availability of donor organs, the authors said.
“All cells do not die immediately, there is a more protracted series of events,” said David Andrijevic, associate research scientist in neuroscience at Yale School of Medicine and co-lead author of the study. “It is a process in which you can intervene, stop, and restore some cellular function.” READ MORE...
