Oxygen transport during ex situ machine perfusion of donor livers using red blood cells or artificial oxygen carriers

Silke B. Bodewes*, Otto B. van Leeuwen*, Adam M. Thorne*, Bianca Lascaris*, Rinse Ubbink*, Ton Lisman*, Diethard Monbaliu*, Vincent E. De Meijer*, Maarten W.N. Nijsten*, Robert J. Porte*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)
67 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Oxygenated ex situ machine perfusion of donor livers is an alternative for static cold preservation that can be performed at temperatures from 0C to 37C. Organ metabolism depends on oxygen to produce adenosine triphosphate and temperatures below 37C reduce the metabolic rate and oxygen requirements. The transport and delivery of oxygen in machine perfusion are key determinants in preserving organ viability and cellular function. Oxygen delivery is more challenging than carbon dioxide removal, and oxygenation of the perfusion fluid is temperature dependent. The maximal oxygen content of water-based solutions is inversely related to the temperature, while cellular oxygen demand correlates positively with temperature. Machine perfusion above 20C will therefore require an oxygen carrier to enable sufficient oxygen delivery to the liver. Human red blood cells are the most physiological oxygen carriers. Alternative artificial oxygen transporters are hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers, perfluorocarbons, and an extracellular oxygen carrier derived from a marine invertebrate. We describe the principles of oxygen transport, delivery, and consumption in machine perfusion for donor livers using different oxygen carrier-based perfusion solutions and we discuss the properties, advantages, and disadvantages of these carriers and their use.

Original languageEnglish
Article number235
Pages (from-to)1-15
Number of pages15
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume22
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding:
This research received no external funding.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Oxygen transport during ex situ machine perfusion of donor livers using red blood cells or artificial oxygen carriers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this