Science

Machine perfusion lowers biological age of donated livers, report says

MIT Technology Review reports that warming and pumping oxygen through donated livers reduces their biological age by an estimated 30 percent.

Updated Sep 14, 2026 · 20:58 UTC1 reports

The short version

Researchers found that warm machine perfusion reduces the biological age of donated livers at a molecular level compared to conventional cold storage.[MIT Technology Review]
Using molecular aging clocks, researchers estimated that pumping organs with nutrients and oxygen at 34 degrees reduced biological age by about 30 percent.[MIT Technology Review]
Although transplantation stress increases organ age after surgery, previously perfused livers retained a lower biological age than non-perfused organs.[MIT Technology Review]
Experts note that it remains uncertain how these molecular changes affect patient health outcomes or if benefits extend to livers from much older donors.[MIT Technology Review]

Machine perfusion at 34 degrees Celsius with nutrients and oxygen reduces the biological age of donated livers by an estimated 30 percent.[MIT Technology Review]
Researchers evaluated the phenomenon using aging clocks across an initial test of 37 samples from 19 livers and a broader study of 208 samples from 103 livers.[MIT Technology Review]
The biological age of all organs increased following transplantation, though machine-perfused livers remained biologically younger than non-perfused ones.[MIT Technology Review]
Organ perfusion procedures cost approximately €10,000 in Germany and between $80,000 and $100,000 per organ in the United States.[MIT Technology Review]

It is not yet known whether biological age reduction translates to improved post-transplant clinical outcomes for recipients or how perfusion impacts organs from older donors aged 70 to 85.[MIT Technology Review]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.