(NewsNation) — It could be the lifeline that tens of thousands of people hoping for a liver transplant: the possibility of growing their own new liver inside their bodies.
The biotech company LyGenesis said for the first time, a human patient has been injected with a cocktail that includes donated liver cells. The goal: transforming a lymph node into a small but working liver.
Researchers began their first test on humans in late March, injecting the therapy into 12 patients, all with end-stage liver disease (ESLD).
“If our study is successful and we obtain FDA approval, our allogenic cell therapy could enable one donated liver to treat many dozens of ESLD patients, which could help to tilt the current organ supply-demand imbalance in favor of patients,” according to Dr. Michael Hufford, Co-Founder and CEO of LyGenesis.
Each year, about four and a half million people develop liver disease, and more than 50,000 die from it. But nearly 10,000 people are on waiting lists for a liver transplant, and not every donated liver is suitable for transplant.
The new therapy needs only a few cells from a liver, which means each donated organ could provide enough material to treat up to 75 people, according to LyGenesis.
The human test follows animal tests conducted in the past few years. In one, mice injected with the compound grew enough liver tissue in lymph nodes to take up the work of their diseased livers. In a further study, pigs grew new livers that were bigger than the animals’ damaged ones.
The liver is unique among human organs in that it can heal itself. Damaged liver tissue sends signals to healthy tissue to regenerate itself.