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Kidney, heart transplant ‘years ahead of’ LT in development, implementation of biomarkers

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Although the development and use of biomarkers in liver transplantation has progressed in recent years, challenges and limitations remain, according to presenters at the American Transplant Congress 2022.

Thomas D. Schiano, MD, professor of medicine and liver diseases at Mount Sinai in New York, told attendees that among transplant patients, biomarkers should monitor short- and long-term graft function, predict acute and chronic disease development, assess donor organ quality or monitor response to therapeutic intervention. Further, biomarkers should have external validation. Read the full article in Healio.

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World’s first: Doctors successfully transplant human liver treated in a machine

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Organ transplantation is a very complicated medical procedure. The organ has to be compatible with the recipient, and the process also involves moving a live organ from donor person to recipient and maintaining the organ in working order until the surgery.

The traditional method of moving transplant organs involves storing them at a very low temperature. However, this process has a time limit and may damage organ tissues.
Read more in Medical News Today.

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A new storage technique could vastly expand the number of livers available for transplant

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It allows donor livers to be held for days—significantly longer than the standard now–and even treated if they are damaged.

A patient who received a donated liver that had been stored for three days in a new type of machine that mimics the human body is healthy one year on from surgery, according to a study in Nature Biotechnology. The technology could significantly increase the number of livers suitable for transplant, the authors claim, both by enabling donor livers to be preserved for longer than the current standard and by making it possible to repair organs that are available but too damaged to transplant as is. Read the full story from MIT Technology Review.

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Study seeks to improve gender equity for liver transplantation waiting list

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Women who need a liver transplant are more likely to spend more time on a waiting list, become too sick for transplant or die compared to men. To improve equity, a recently published Vanderbilt-led study suggests a sex adjustment to criteria for MELD (model for end-stage liver disease), which determines allocation of transplanted livers.

The paper, “Proposing a Sex-Adjusted Sodium-Adjusted MELD Score for Liver Transplant Allocation” appears in JAMA Surgery. Read more in the VUMC Reporter.

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Study outlines risk factors for autoimmune hepatitis after liver transplant

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A multicenter study performed by a large international consortium that includes UT Southwestern has outlined a set of risk factors and outcomes for patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) that recurs after liver transplantation. The findings, published in the Journal of Hepatology, represent a first step toward better managing and potentially preventing this uncommon condition.

“Autoimmune hepatitis is a very rare disorder of the liver, and liver transplant is a rare surgical procedure, with only 9,236 performed in the United States in 2021.
Read the full story in News Medical Life Sciences.

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Study: Liver transplants from drug overdose donors increased in the pandemic’s first year

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Liver transplants from drug overdose donors rose significantly in the pandemic’s first year, helping keep the number of liver transplants in the U.S. stable despite COVID-19 disruptions, according to a study to be presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2022.

Using the U.S. organ donation registry, operated by the United Network for Organ Sharing, the research team examined characteristics of donors for all solid organ transplants, including livers, during two 14-month periods, both before the pandemic began and afterwards. They identified those transplants from drug overdose donors to determine the extent of changes during the pandemic. Read more from News Medical Life Sciences.

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MELD Scoring for Liver Transplants in Need of Sex Adjustment, Study Says

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— Researchers find “pervasive sex differences” in sodium-adjusted MELD scoring system

Laboratory traits used in the calculation of sodium-adjusted model for end-stage liver disease (MELDNa) scores placed women at a distinct disadvantage, researchers reported.

In an electronic health record (EHR)-based study of more than 600,000 participants, all calculated laboratory values that make up the scoring system showed significant and “pervasive sex differences” between women and men, respectively (P<0.001 for all):
-Mean creatinine: 0.79 vs 0.99 mg/dL
-Bilirubin: 0.58 vs 0.76 mg/dL
-International normalized ratio of prothrombin rate: 1.20 vs 1.24
-Sodium: 139.03 vs 139.00 mEq/L
Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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AI could save lives by identifying relapse risk in potential liver transplant patients

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Predicting the variables that could lead to damaging alcohol use in post-surgical cases may spur lifesaving interventions, a USC study finds.

A screening tool developed with artificial intelligence and trained on hundreds of hours of patient interviews could flag risks for relapse in liver transplant patients with alcohol use disorder — and prompt precise interventions, according to a new USC study.
Read the full story from USC News.

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What’s the Mysterious Liver Disease Hurting Children?

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An outbreak of acute hepatitis — an inflammation of the liver — in children has killed at least four and required liver transplants in more than a dozen others across the globe, according to the World Health Organization. While the cause is undetermined, investigators are studying a family of pathogens, called adenoviruses, that cause a range of illnesses including the common cold.  Read the full story in The Washington Post here.

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Mayo Clinic Minute: ‘Liver in a box’ is saving lives with new technology

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It is new technology called “liver in a box,” and it’s improving outcomes for patients who receive lifesaving transplants.

April is National Donate Life Month, which helps raise awareness about the importance of organ donation. According to Lifesource, more than 11,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a lifesaving liver donation. Read more in Medical Xpress.

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