Although multi-organ transplants have become more common, scientists and surgeons continue to face the ineluctable obstacle of time. Current donor organ preservation times hover around five to six hours. Because of the complicated tissue-matching process, oftentimes organs are unable to reach their beneficiaries, wasting valuable, viable organs. However, scientists are hopeful that a certain substance, called the Hibernation Induction Trigger (HIT), will extend the life of a potential transplant organ.
HIT is an opiate-like substance found in the blood of hibernating animals. Previous experiments have shown that opioids act as an autoperfusion block, preventing blood from flowing through the lymphatic system to organs, a phenomenon known as ischemia. In a preliminary experiment, an infusion of plasma with the Delta opioid delayed hemorrhaging in certain laboratory animals. When this arresting of activity was applied to the transplantation of organs, physicians reported preservation times up to 15 hours, a more than two-fold increase over standard conservation.
Scientists have extrapolated from these findings, further identifying the opioid DADLE as integral to triggering the hibernation process. Infusing HIT-molecule-containing plasma from hibernating woodchucks into canine lungs increased preservation times more than three-fold from previous findings. This experiment suggests that, should a potential donor organ be infused with these trigger molecules before the organ is harvested, the organ would remain transplantable for up to 45 hours, greatly increasing the chance for doctors to find a suitable recipient.
Though these results are exciting, they do nothing to increase survival rates from an organ transplant operation, which currently hover at 60 percent over four years, because patients are still susceptible to infection and rejection. Scientists are a long way from declaring HIT-molecules a safe and consistent method of organ preservation. Still, other areas of science have taken an interest in this research. NASA, for example, is considering the implications of human hibernation for deep space travel.
HIT is an opiate-like substance found in the blood of hibernating animals. Previous experiments have shown that opioids act as an autoperfusion block, preventing blood from flowing through the lymphatic system to organs, a phenomenon known as ischemia. In a preliminary experiment, an infusion of plasma with the Delta opioid delayed hemorrhaging in certain laboratory animals. When this arresting of activity was applied to the transplantation of organs, physicians reported preservation times up to 15 hours, a more than two-fold increase over standard conservation.
Scientists have extrapolated from these findings, further identifying the opioid DADLE as integral to triggering the hibernation process. Infusing HIT-molecule-containing plasma from hibernating woodchucks into canine lungs increased preservation times more than three-fold from previous findings. This experiment suggests that, should a potential donor organ be infused with these trigger molecules before the organ is harvested, the organ would remain transplantable for up to 45 hours, greatly increasing the chance for doctors to find a suitable recipient.
Though these results are exciting, they do nothing to increase survival rates from an organ transplant operation, which currently hover at 60 percent over four years, because patients are still susceptible to infection and rejection. Scientists are a long way from declaring HIT-molecules a safe and consistent method of organ preservation. Still, other areas of science have taken an interest in this research. NASA, for example, is considering the implications of human hibernation for deep space travel.