Donated livers can be made biologically younger

Researchers have discovered that machine perfusion, a process used to preserve donated organs, can biologically rejuvenate livers. Typically, donated organs degrade in cold storage, but hospitals are increasingly using perfusion machines to pump organs with nutrients and oxygen. A study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Mass General Brigham utilized “aging clocks”—tools that measure epigenetic patterns and gene expression—to compare livers kept on ice versus those on perfusion machines. The findings revealed that perfused livers exhibited a biological age approximately 30% younger than their chronologically younger counterparts stored on ice. This rejuvenation effect persists even after transplantation. Scientists believe this process could improve organ utilization, reduce discard rates, and provide new methods for assessing and repairing donor organs, potentially increasing the success rate of life-saving transplants.