Artificial Liver Used After Removal of Organ (May 19, 1993)

This article gives insight into the progress of technological advances in the field of artificial livers. Published in 1993, the case mentioned in this article was one of the first in the field of medicine where a bioartificial liver ‘kept a patient alive after her own failing liver was removed.” While the bioartificial liver used at the time was a crude product compared to those used today, it fulfilled its role of keeping the patient alive until the transplant arrived 14 hours later. At the time, very few other artificial livers were employed, and the few that were resulted in death. Today, there are have been numerous cases where people are put on bioartificial livers (BALs). This method of keeping a patient alive or out of a coma as they wait for a transplant has become more common. Companies have developed more advanced bioartificial livers that may use human liver cells instead of porcine liver cells, reducing rejection from the host. At the same time that this article points out progress in artificial liver technology, it also emphasizes the fact that there is still no permanent artificial liver. BALs are solely meant to temporarily keep the patient alive until a transplant from another human arrives. This is why they are referred to as "bridging" mechanisms.

While there is no permanent liver transplant available, BALs can be beneficial when the issue of health care costs arise. The purpose of BALs are to support liver function, which leads to the possibility that the native liver will heal and ultimately rid the need of requiring a transplant for many individuals. This would save the healthcare industry a large amount of money while improving rates of recovery from liver failure as well. However, this cannot be proven. There is also the opposite possibility that BALs would increase healthcare costs. BALs are another product and if it becomes a universally accepted method for all individuals waiting for transplants, it would mean that hospitals would have to purchase more and patients would have to pay more. The bottom line is, BALs will definitely influence healthcare costs. Whether or not it will be beneficial to costs is the question.

-Mark

No author given, New York Times, 5/19/93

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/19/health/artificial-liver-used-after-removal-of-organ.html?scp=3&sq=artificial%20liver&st=cse