Abstract
We tried to make an ex vivo functioning liver with an artificial perfusate that consisted of artificial blood in the pig liver. A liver graft from a female pig weighing 20 kg was harvested in the usual manner. The perfusion solution consisted of artificial blood, L-15 medium, distilled water, bovine serum albumin, NaHCO3, NaOH, KCl, human regular insulin, 50% glucose solution, and dexamethasone. The isolated liver was perfused with this oxygenated perfusate through the portal vein at a rate of 300 ml/min for 9 hours. Seven livers were perfused for 9 hours in this system. Five of the livers showed mean oxygen consumption of over 8 ml-02/min during perfusion. Histological findings showed that the hepatic architecture was almost completely preserved and numerous hepatocytes exhibited PAS-positive cytoplasmic glycogen deposits in these livers.
These observations indicate that we have succeeded in developing an ex vivo functioning liver with an artificial perfusate employing artificial blood.
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