A real-time light scan to check if a donated liver is healthy enough for transplant
Official title: A quantitative viability metric for liver transplantation using Resonance Raman Spectroscopy
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11286824 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work uses a special light-based scan during organ preservation to quickly tell transplant teams whether a donated liver is likely to work well for someone on the liver transplant waitlist.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $497,564 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK134590-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11286824 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People listed for liver transplantation—especially those willing to accept organs from donation-after-circulatory-death or other marginal donors—would be the main beneficiaries and potential candidates for receiving organs cleared by this test.
✕Less likely to help
People without liver disease, those not on a transplant list, or patients treated at centers that do not use machine perfusion or the scanning device would not directly benefit.
What this research studies
If you are waiting for a liver transplant, researchers are developing a bedside light-scan (Resonance Raman Spectroscopy) that reads chemical signals from a donated liver while it is kept on a preservation machine. They will link those signals to tissue, blood, and outcome data from experimental models and discarded organs to create a single, easy-to-read viability score. The goal is a fast, objective test teams can use in minutes to decide if a marginal or donation-after-circulatory-death (DCD) liver should be used. The team will refine and validate the score across lab experiments and real-world organ preservation setups so it is reliable for clinical use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could increase the number of usable donor livers, shorten wait times, and lower the chance of failed transplants.
How similar studies have gone: Early laboratory and animal work using spectroscopy for organ assessment has shown promise, but real-time clinical use and broad validation remain novel and unproven.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tessier, Shannon Noella — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Tessier, Shannon Noella
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Targeting a specific CD38 form to protect livers from injury after transplant
A new approach tests a selective drug to protect donor livers from injury during transplant, potentially increasing usable organs and improving transplant outcomes.
-
Regulatory dendritic cell therapy to reduce immunosuppressive drugs after liver transplant
A new approach using donor-derived regulatory dendritic cells is being tested to help adults who receive a liver transplant live without relying on traditional immunosuppressive drugs.
-
HOPE liver transplant: reducing infections and cancer risk for HIV-positive recipients
This grant aims to better understand why HIV-positive liver transplant recipients face higher infection and cancer risks and to improve safety and outcomes for these patients.
-
Early liver transplant decisions for severe alcohol-related liver disease
A large study follows adults with severe alcohol-related liver disease to understand how to best select and manage patients for early liver transplantation.
-
Early Liver Transplant for Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis
A hospital-based program is studying whether offering an early liver transplant to patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis can save lives when standard medical treatment fails.
-
Early liver transplant for severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) to save lives
A Johns Hopkins program is testing whether giving an early liver transplant to patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis who can’t be helped by standard treatments can save lives and reduce relapse risk.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.