“A revolution in organ transplantation” .. The story of the worm that France is betting on

From the beach to the operating room... This strange path is taken by marine worms attributed to amazing features that a French biotechnology company discovered and turned into a product currently being tested in human transplants to give transplanted organs greater resistance.

This worm, known by its scientific name, Arenicola marina, is not often noticed because it is able to hide under the sand, but beachgoers on the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel have undoubtedly spotted the traces it leaves behind on the surface.

These worms are not new at all, as they are approximately 450 million years old, which shows their ability to resist.

This organism knows very well how to survive without oxygen, waiting for the return of the high tide for several hours.

This is thanks to its hemoglobin, which is close to that found in humans, but it is more effective, as each molecule can stabilize amounts of oxygen equivalent to forty times what hemoglobin fixes in humans, according to Frank Zall, head of the “Hemarina” company based on the project in its laboratories in Morel, western France.

The company uses this feature to allow more oxygen in transplanted organs during transplants.

In one company's refrigerator, nearly three hundred kilograms of worms are kept in one-litre packages.

The worms, which are a few meters long, are normal in shape and there is no suggestion that they are intended for use in operating rooms.

But defrost leads to hemorrhagic shock.

Then the hemoglobin molecule undergoes several stages before being transformed into a small package containing one gram of a bright red liquid.

This solution will later be added to a liquid to preserve the transplanted organ, pending transplantation.

And 250 kilograms of worms represents three kilograms of the product, which is approximately three thousand potential transplants.

The company's laboratory, in particular, is witnessing a quality control process, as the production task has been transferred to a pharmaceutical company that has larger laboratories.

This was not easy, because the use of worms is not uncommon in the pharmaceutical sector.

Frank Zall explained that "turning the entire route to the industrial side was a very complex task, with full traceability," recalling that his company began his research "by relying on a blender."

The former researcher at the French Center for Scientific Research began his research first on mice, and applied for a first patent in 2001, before the establishment of "Hermarina".

The company's laboratory is currently working on completing its second experiment on nearly 500 people undergoing kidney transplantation across France.

Zal hopes that this will open the door for his product to preserve transplanted organs, called Hemo to Life, on the market.

Professor Yannick Le Moore, a specialist in renal medicine at the Brest Hospital (West), who is involved in the various tests, explained that if the results are positive, it may constitute a major advance in the world of transplantation.

He said, "The greatest difficulty in transplants lies first in the lack of organs prepared for them, in light of the very long waiting lists."

This has prompted the authorities to soften the conditions for approval of operations, while accepting, for example, older donors who sometimes suffer from diseases, which increases the risk of a defect in the functioning of transplanted organs.

Herein lies the importance of improving the preservation of these most vulnerable organs.

"It is necessary to avoid problems with the transplanted organ and to work to restart its work faster," Le Moore said.

A first study gave “encouraging results.

We showed a difference between the kidneys that received Himarina solution and those that did not, in terms of the time it takes for the transplanted organ to function after the transplant, for example,” according to the specialist.

Le Moore considered that the hemoglobin present in these worms "may have a profound effect on transplanted organs and patients, as well as on prescription habits and techniques."

This view is shared by Professor Benoit Barrow, Head of the Department of Surgical Medicine for Kidney Transplantation at Paris Hospitals, who is also a co-author of the study.

In light of the shortage of organs for transplantation, the specialist considers Hemo to Life to be a “revolution in terms of ease of use and effectiveness.

In medicine, when we develop something, ease of use is a critical factor in bringing it to scale.”

The French company began expanding this activity abroad.

Last September, the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in India used its solution in a double upper limb transplant on a patient.

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