Health Check

Livers that live longer than we do


Listen Later

Claudia Hammond discovers that some livers have the potential for extraordinary longevity and after a long life in a transplant donor, can survive for many more years in a transplant recipient. Livers over one hundred years old, called centurian livers by researchers, have been identified and many are still going strong. The new study has important implications for the future of liver transplants because donated organs from some older-age people were also found to last longer than those from young-age donors, a finding that Dr Christine Hwang, from the University of Texas in the USA and study co-author, tells Claudia upturns conventional thinking about the healthiest livers to transplant.

The accuracy of forehead thermometers as well as pulse oximeters on darker skin is an issue that's received widespread attention, but what about the medical need to accurately measure skin pigmentation for psoriasis, eczema, skin cancers and other health conditions? Dr Ophelia Dadzie from the British Association of Dermatologists and the Hillingdon Hospital in London has been developing a scientific way to measure skin colour. Her method uses eumelanin, a skin pigment, and she's created a new scale to objectively assess peoples’ skin colour.

And BBC correspondent, Dr Smitha Mundasad, joins Claudia and reports on the growing Ebola outbreak in Uganda, the risks of herbal supplements on our livers and brings the latest evidence on the health benefits of the weighted blanket.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond

Producer: Fiona Hill

(Picture: A doctor Transporting a Human Organ for Transplant. Photo credit: Photographereddie/Getty Images.)

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Health CheckBy BBC World Service

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

79 ratings


More shows like Health Check

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,821 Listeners

The Archers by BBC Radio 4

The Archers

1,089 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

874 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,062 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,525 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,797 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,807 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,068 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,954 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

270 Listeners

The Food Chain by BBC World Service

The Food Chain

351 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

964 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

412 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

424 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

98 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

230 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

330 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

362 Listeners

All in the Mind by BBC Radio 4

All in the Mind

58 Listeners

Health Report by ABC

Health Report

131 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

475 Listeners

People Fixing the World by BBC World Service

People Fixing the World

244 Listeners

Sliced Bread by BBC Radio 4

Sliced Bread

157 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,212 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,026 Listeners