Bioartificial Liver Devices

One tissue engineering device is the Bioartificial Liver Device (BAL). There are two BAL's currently in clinical trials, they are the HepatAssist 2000 and the ELAD. The aim of both of these devices is either as a bridge to transplant, or as a means of letting the liver regenerate on it's own. Both perform these tasks rather well, but both differ in the method used to do this.
The HepatAssist 2000 is an extracorporeal device with hollow tubes and pig liver tissue samples that filters the plasma. This is good as plasma has a better flow rate, there is a greater molecular transfer rate, and there is decreased intracranial pressure. The down side is that pig cells create pig proteins which may cause immune responses, the plasma separation process can also cause problems.
The ELAD uses filtration cartridges much like kidney dialysis. These tubes contained hollow fibers with cloned human cells that are cultured in them. The ELAD is good as it mimics many of the natural liver functions like metabolizing amino acids and producing proteins and clotting factors. The down side of this product could be the fact that it doesn't have the better flow rates that the HepatAssist 2000 has.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/420583