Tissue Engineering and Organ Fabrication Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02446, USA.
One of the most challenging clinical syndromes in medicine is that of acute liver failure (ALF). Many devices and systems have been devised to support ALF patients. This manuscript reviews the significant clinical findings of ALF, as well as, the non-biologic liver support systems and the bioartificial liver devices that have been clinically tested to support patients with this disease. Finally, we identify several improvements critical to the future of the field of bioartificial liver replacement therapy.