Dawn of a New Era: The World's First Bioengineered Liver Treatment

- A Historic First: In a groundbreaking procedure, the world's first patient has been treated with a bioengineered external liver, marking a pivotal moment in medical history.
- Revolutionary Tech: The
miroliverELAP
system uses a decellularized pig liver, re-infused with living human cells, to function as a temporary, external support organ. - A Lifeline for the Ineligible: This innovation offers a new sliver of hope for patients with acute liver failure who cannot receive a transplant—a group facing a devastating 30% mortality rate2, 3.
For a patient on the brink, with acute liver failure and no hope of a transplant, the clock was ticking. But in a quiet hospital room in Utah, the future of medicine arrived. In a world-first clinical trial, doctors at Intermountain Health connected the patient to miroliverELAP
, a revolutionary bioengineered liver assist device developed by United Therapeutics subsidiary, Miromatrix.
This isn't science fiction. The device is a marvel of bioengineering: a porcine liver scaffold, stripped of its original animal cells and meticulously reseeded with human liver and endothelial cells. Functioning outside the body, it takes on the life-sustaining work of a failing liver.
This procedure represents a historic leap, the first human trial of any manufactured organ alternative. "This first of its kind treatment represents a historic achievement," said an official from Miromatrix, a sentiment echoed by Intermountain Health. For the tens of thousands of patients hospitalized each year with acute liver failure, this marks the dawn of a new era2, 3. While this is just the first step in a Phase 1 study, it signals a profound shift in our fight against organ failure, moving one step closer to a future where organ shortages no longer cost lives.
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