Call it cellular life support for dead pigs. A complex network of artificial pumps, sensors and fluids can move oxygen, nutrients and drugs into pigs’ bodies, preserving cells in organs that would otherwise deteriorate after the heart stops pumping.
The find, described Aug. 3 in Natureis preliminary, but suggests new ways to keep a body’s organs healthy until they can be used for transplanting.
In earlier work, the scientists built a machine they called BrainEx, which maintained aspects of cellular life chugging in decapitated, oxygen-deprived pig brains (serial number: 04/17/19). The new system, called OrganEx, drives the focus of organs beyond the brain.
“We wanted to see if we could replicate our findings in other damaged organs throughout the body and potentially open the door for future transplant studies,” says Nenad Sestan, a neuroscientist at Yale University School of Medicine.
OrganEx aims to do the work of hearts and lungs by pumping an artificial fluid through pigs’ bodies. Mixed in a 1:1 ratio with the animals’ own blood, the lab-made liquid has ingredients that provide fresh oxygen and nutrients, prevent clot formation, and protect against inflammation and cell death.
Anesthetized pigs were put into cardiac arrest and then left alone for one hour. Some pigs were then placed on an existing medical system, called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. This adds oxygen to the pigs own blood and pumps it into their body. Other pigs received the OrganEx treatment.
Compared to ECMO, OrganEx delivered more fluid to tissues and organs, the researchers found. Fewer cells died, and some tissues, including the kidneys, even showed cellular signs of repairing damage done after the heart stopped.
A similar system could one day be useful in protecting human organs destined for donation. But for now, “there is still a lot of work to be done on our animal model,” says Sestan.