Device Keeps Organs Alive Outside The Body

A pioneering device that keeps organs "alive" outside the body could dramatically improve the success of transplants and provide new ways of treating tumours and liver disease. For the first time, scientists at the University of Oxford have managed to disconnect an organ from the body's blood supply and keep it functioning on an artificial blood circuit. The procedure has allowed them to keep livers viable outside the body for more than 72 hours - four times the current time limit. It is hoped the technique will make it possible to transplant organs that would previously have been unusable - alleviating the problems caused by a shortage of donors. Organs are capable of regenerating high levels of damaged tissue when isolated from the rest of the body, the scientists found. A version of the technique could also be used to treat organs with high doses of chemotherapy to combat cancers without harmful side-effects on the body. Such treatments might also be developed to fight liver disease caused by alcohol and hepatitis. Scientists are now planning the first clinical trials in patients and hope to use the technique on other organs including the lungs, kidneys and pancreas. They hope the procedure will be widely used within five years.