Beter preserveren, duurzaam transplanteren

For more than 40 years, donor livers have been preserved in a cold box on ice. However, today, for many livers, this is no longer sufficient. Due to an aging population, organ donors are older and have more comorbidities, negatively impacting donor organ quality. Simultaneously, the disparitybetween donor organ supply and demand is increasing. These are the challenges that we face in liver transplantation today.

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Vincent de Meijer addresses the importance of innovative research in transplantation to improve outcomes. He will outline the research on better preservation of donor livers that has eventually led to the clinical implementation of liver machine perfusion in the Netherlands: “With the use of machine perfusion, we can now perform a test drive to assess the viability of risky donor livers, mitigate the injury that occurs during transplantation, and safely extend preservation time to facilitate standard daytime transplantation”.

In Groningen, the use of machine perfusion has led to a 20% net increase in the number of liver transplantations, a substantial decrease in complications, and a dramatic change in logistics to avoid nighttime surgeries. This has led to better utilization of human donor livers, reduced pressure on scarce hospital resources outside office hours and, at the same time, improved the work-life balance of the entire transplant team, altogether resulting in more sustainable transplantation.

De Meijer will conclude with an outlook on how he envisions that the field might evolve in the coming years: “Through interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, we will further advance the field of liver transplantation, aiming to improve patient outcomes and lives”.