Are slaughterhouse-obtained livers suitable for use in ex vivo perfusion research?

The success of the ex vivo machine perfusion of pig livers used for preclinical research depends on organ quality and availability. In this study, we investigated whether livers obtained from slaughterhouses are suitable and equivalent to livers obtained from laboratory pigs.

Livers were obtained from slaughterhouse pigs stunned by electrocution or CO₂ inhalation and from laboratory pigs. For the latter group, 45 minutes of warm ischemia was mimicked for a subgroup, ensuring a valid comparison with slaughterhouse-derived livers.

Livers from CO₂-stunned pigs showed lower indocyanine green clearance and bile production, higher blood lactate and potassium concentrations, and higher alanine aminotransferase activities than electrically stunned pigs. Furthermore, livers from electrically stunned pigs, and livers from laboratory pigs, subjected or not to warm ischemia, showed similar performance in terms of perfusion and metabolism.

For an ex vivo liver model generated using slaughterhouse pigs, electrical stunning is preferable to CO₂ stunning. Livers from electrically stunned slaughterhouse pigs performed similarly to laboratory pig livers. These findings support the use of livers from electrically stunned slaughterhouse pigs, which may therefore provide an alternative to livers obtained from laboratory pigs, consistent with the principle of the 3Rs.