A New Method of Organ Preservation

Recently I came across an article on the BBC explaining a new technique on preserving organs shortly before transplantation. To keep the organs 'fresh', they will need to be 'supercooled' according to United States researchers. As with most scientific trials, this technique was first experimented on the organs of animals (specifically rat livers) and the results published in Nature Medicine. According to this the organs can be preserved for up to 3 days using this technique! Using current methods organs can only  remain viable for around 24 hours.

I think that in the long-term this technique can be cost effective for the NHS and seems like a very efficient method of preserving organs despite the initial start-up costs of implementing this resource into hospitals.

However we haven't yet tested this technique on human organs which is an important factor to consider. It's also interesting to know how this process works:

The main principle to note is that as soon as an organ is removed from the body, individual cells begin to die as they are stripped of their normal environment. However cooling aims to slow this process as the metabolic rate of the cells themselves is slowed.

But the main advantage here is that ultimately if this process works on human organs, donor matching will result more successfully. Especially as in current times the demand for organs without rejection is very high, this technique could be a major step in my opinion.

The important question now is can this technique be used on a 1.5kg human liver compared to a 10g rat liver? With more cells and a larger mass, I imagine preserving a larger organ will provide more difficulty.

Credit to Dr Korkut Uygun and his team of researchers at Harvard Medical School.

Click here to read more on the subject.

Beginnings...

With my growing interest for medicine over the last few years, I have arrived at a point where I think it may be appropriate to express some of my views on today's changing events in the medical field. The field of medicine is one of profound innovation yet very personal to many. It is greatly affected by economics and politics - our NHS system has had significant reforms in recent times. Changes in the structure of the NHS have had a knock-on effect even right down to the patient level, whether it is receiving the right treatment or whether one can afford the treatment at all.

In fact one of the most controversial issues surrounding the NHS and the government is whether the NHS as an organisation will enter privatisation. When most people think of privatisation, they are reminded of the US-style health insurance 'fee for service' plans. For many this may mean no easy access to essential healthcare anymore, but could indicate 'big bucks' for emerging private health companies such as Virgin Care, a sub-category of Richard Branson's Virgin empire. An essay I have written on whether the NHS should be privatised can be seen here. I encourage a read to anyone who isn't particularly sure of what privatisation is and it's implications.

Also I will look forward to commenting on any medically related books I read that spark an interest in me.