A new bioartificial liver saved a 61-year-old Chinese woman who was suffering from acute liver failure. The procedure was the first clinical use of the bioartificial organ developed by researchers from the Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences and doctors from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital.
The device uses human liver cells and is attached outside the recipient's body, reports Xinhua News Agency. The team, which published results of their study on the new issue of Cell Research, plans to o more clinical tests in Shanghai and nearby cities this 2016.
Professor Ding Yitao, member of the research team, notes that Chinese researchers have been using artificial livers since 1998, but it was made from pig's liver. The new device they made used cells taken from human skin, fat and other tissues and were reprogrammed into liver cells.
He points out, "It is safer and less likely to cause a rejection reaction."
During the study, the scientists found that when lab animals are given new device, it has an average 80 percent chance of survival, while pigs suffering from acute liver failure not treated died within three days.
About 100 million Chinese suffer from hepatitis B, and the country has a high incidence of liver cancer. With the bioartificial liver made from human liver cells technology now available, more Chinese patients with liver ailments would have better chances for survival.
In India, the startup Pandorum Technologies, based in Bengaluru, successfully developed in late December 2015 an artificial 3D printed human liver tissue that mimics the organ's function seamlessly. Like in China, the medical breakthrough in India is expected to benefit Indians since the country's ratio of liver transplants to donor is 50:1.