Keeping donated livers usable longer using improved supercooling
Official title: Enhanced supercooling for extending non-freezing preservation in preclinical porcine and human donor livers
Funded at Sylvatica Biotech, INC. · NIH-11193544 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses an improved supercooling method to keep donated livers viable for longer so more people who need liver transplants can get better-matched organs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Sylvatica Biotech, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (North Charleston, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $980,782 |
| NIH project number | 5R44DK136457-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11193544 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with end-stage liver disease who are listed for or being evaluated for liver transplantation would be the eventual beneficiaries and candidates for future clinical trials.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not transplant candidates because of severe comorbidities, active infection, or other contraindications to transplant may not benefit from this work.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, the team is developing a way to cool donor livers below 0°C without forming damaging ice, a process called supercooling. They will test the method in the lab on porcine livers and on human donor livers using vascular flush and controlled cooling to maintain a non-freezing, metastable state. The researchers will monitor markers of liver viability and survival after different storage times to see how long function can be preserved. If the method is safe and reproducible, it could move toward clinical testing and allow livers to be stored for days instead of hours.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could increase the time donor livers stay usable from hours to days, allowing better matching, longer transport, and potentially fewer deaths on the waitlist.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical studies, including prior work by this group, have shown promising results with supercooling to extend liver preservation for multiple days, but broader validation and translation to clinical use remain needed.
Where this research is happening
-
Sylvatica Biotech, INC.
North Charleston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Taylor, Michael John — Sylvatica Biotech, INC.
- Study coordinator: Taylor, Michael John
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Extending liver preservation using enhanced supercooling
A new method aims to keep donor livers viable for days longer by supercooling them, potentially helping patients who need a transplant waitlist that’s too short.
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Improving liver preservation to extend donor organ availability
This study is looking at a new way to keep donor livers healthy for longer so they can be transported farther, which could help more people who need a liver transplant.
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Improving the preservation of human livers for transplantation
This study is looking at a new way to freeze human livers so they can stay healthy for longer, making it easier to match them with patients who need a transplant, which could help save more lives.
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.