Submission + - FDA testing artificial liver (yahoo.com)
NIckGorton writes: "Research is now underway in the US to seek FDA approval for an artificial liver. The Extracorporeal Liver Assist Device (ELAD) filters blood through a cartridge containing immortalized human liver cells with fiber tubes running through that allow the patients blood to interact with them. This allows the matrix of liver cells to perform both the metabolic (cleansing the blood of toxins/waste) and synthetic (producing albumin, clotting factors, etc) functions of the patient's failing liver. A small trial in China showed a statistically and clinically significant difference in 30 day survival with ELAD.
This sounds like where renal dialysis was in the 70s: really expensive and dangerous and you will probably die anyway. However in patients with acute liver failure (ex: toxin exposure), ELAD might give them enough time to regenerate their liver and obviate the need for a transplant. At a minimum it may help transplant recipients survive longer and be healthier when they undergo surgery.
On a related note, if you haven't talked with your family about your wishes regarding organ transplantation yet, please do so! Just checking that box on your DL isn't enough, because your next of kin is the final decision-maker."
This sounds like where renal dialysis was in the 70s: really expensive and dangerous and you will probably die anyway. However in patients with acute liver failure (ex: toxin exposure), ELAD might give them enough time to regenerate their liver and obviate the need for a transplant. At a minimum it may help transplant recipients survive longer and be healthier when they undergo surgery.
On a related note, if you haven't talked with your family about your wishes regarding organ transplantation yet, please do so! Just checking that box on your DL isn't enough, because your next of kin is the final decision-maker."
