Research and progress in the transplant world: good things are happening!

On Sunday, Carl and I stopped by the new Liver Support Northwest meeting to hear what Dr. Scott Naugler (one of the transplant hepatologists at OHSU) had to say about advancement in liver transplants and immune suppression. We learned some pretty interesting info! He talked about the history of liver transplants, and explained the delicate balance between making sure the body doesn't reject a transplanted organ and keeping the rest of the body healthy (if you are into in medical studies, check out this abstract from the a recent issue of the medical journal Transplantation). We also learned about some of the research and progress scientists and doctors are making in the field -- research that could (at some point, probably in the distant future) make a huge, huge difference in the lives of people with liver disease. For example, one area of research involves harvesting human liver cells and growing them outside of the human body. Pretty amazing (in fact, right now, there is a mouse somewhere who is thriving with a mouse-sized human liver in his pint-sized body)! As for the microarray technology,  I mentioned last week, Naugler didn't have any specifics on that topic. And, after listening to his talk, I am reminded that it is probably wishful thinking that Carl will see a med-free regimen in the future (which is completely cool with us -- we're just glad the meds are available!).