Nov 12, 2022 12:00:00

The liver can be inherited from the donor to the patient and live for more than 100 years

Although human life expectancy has increased significantly in recent years due to advances in medical technology, very few people live to be over 100 years old. However, it has been reported that the human 'liver' is inherited from the donor to the patient and can continue to function for more than 100 years.

Livers have the potential to function for more than 100 years | ACS

https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and-articles/press-releases/2022/livers-have-the-potential-to-function-for-more-than- 100-years/

Livers can stay alive and functional for over 100 years across multiple donors and recipients
https://www.zmescience.com/science/livers-100-years-lifetime-transplant-94625/

When performing organ transplantation from a donor to a patient, it is important not only that the organ is in a healthy state at the time of transplantation, but also how well the function is maintained after transplantation. Therefore, the research team of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and TransMedics , a biotechnology company on organ transplantation, investigated how long the liver used for transplantation would maintain its function, the American organ transplantation network We analyzed data from the United Network for Organ Sharing .

As a result, it was found that of the 253,406 livers transplanted from 1990 to 2020, 25 livers have survived for a total of more than 100 years in the donor and patient. These liver donors were quite old with an average age of 84.7 years at the time of transplantation, and the prevalence of diabetes and the incidence of infections associated with transplantation were also low.

Christine Hwang, a member of the research team and an associate professor of surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said, ``We used to tend to avoid using livers from older people. If we can understand what's special about a donor, we may get more liver transplants and better outcomes.' He hoped that by expanding the age range of potential donors, more patients could be saved.

According to the research team, liver donors that had been functioning for over 100 years had low

transaminase (aminotransferase) levels. Transaminases play an important role in the liver, but when the liver is damaged, the enzyme leaks into the bloodstream, causing elevated levels and adversely affecting liver transplantation. In addition, it was found that the MELD score , which is used to determine the severity of liver transplant patients, was significantly lower in patients who received liver transplants.

``The liver is an incredibly resilient organ,'' said Yash Kadakia, a student at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center who led the study. As a result of combining these factors, he expressed the view that the transplanted liver continues to function even after 100 years.