What is the issue?
We have discovered that donated livers and kidneys sometimes contain tiny blood clots inside their blood vessels. These small clots can lead to liver transplants not working properly or kidneys taking longer to start working in their new recipient. At the moment, we don’t know exactly when these clots form – whether they develop before donation, during the donation process, or afterwards.
What is being done to address it?
Researchers are studying donated organs to find out when these small clots appear. By discovering when the clots form, they hope to understand the process better and identify the key moments when clots are most likely to develop.
How will this help future patients?
Once doctors know when these clots form, they can work on ways to prevent them from developing in the first place or to create treatments to reduce their impact. This could help more transplanted organs to work well in their recipient, giving patients better outcomes after their transplant.