Animal model for liver cell banking from non-heart beating donors after prolonged ischaemia time

Background and aim: Although there is a growing interest on the use of non-heart beating donors to enlarge the liver donor pool, livers with prolonged warm ischaemia time are not currently considered for organ transplantation. We hypothesised that these organs may represent a source of hepatocytes for cell transplantation and/or use in bioartificial liver devices. Thus, we investigated if prolonged ischaemia could influence the recovery and viability of functional hepatocytes dissociated from rat livers. Methods: Hepatocytes were isolated from the liver within 15 min after death (t = 15 min) and after 4, 8 and 12 h of ischaemia. Cells were either maintained in culture or cryopreserved. In all products, we evaluated cell recovery and viability, hepatocyte markers and cellular functions, including albumin and urea production. Results: The number of cells per gram of tissue was similar at 15 min, 4 and 8 h, while it was significantly decreased at 12 h. About 0.2 × 106 viable cells expressing hepatocyte markers and producing albumin and urea were isolated up to 8 h of ischaemia per gram of tissue. Conclusions: Recovery of viable and functional hepatocytes seems possible after prolonged ischaemia time. These data warrant the evaluation of hepatocyte isolation from human livers of non-heart beating donors. © 2006 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l.