'Beating Heart' Transplants Increases Survival Rates

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 12 January 2012, 19:49 IST   |    1 Comments
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Bangalore: Studies have proved that transplanting heart while it is beating can improve the survival rates.

Usually, in heart transplantations, the heart removed from the donor’s body is placed on ice in a chest case which resembles a picnic cooler and the blood is replaced with a salt-water solution. If the heart is not stitched into the recipient’s body within 4 hours, the heart gets damaged and cannot be transplanted.

But now with the help of a new machine, the heart continues to beat even after its removal. This machine circulates blood in the removed heart of the donor and keeps it beating in a transparent plastic case. The metabolism, blood pressure and electrical state of the heart is checked with the help of a computerized electrical system.

More than 40 patients in the US have participated in the clinical trial testing till now. A 40 year old lady, De Stefano, has been a part of this trial testing, at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She now feels more energetic and has also started leg-lifting exercises. According to her the technology is fascinating and it made so much sense.

The device is made by Andover Company which helps the heart maintain a good condition for more than four hours, after its removal.

“The moment we take the heart out of the donor’s body it is deteriorating,’’ said Dr. Bruce Rosengard, surgical director of cardiac transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital. “We hope to dramatically increase the number of transplants.’’

‘’Patients who receive beating heart transplants face no known special risks, other than the danger of infection, rejection, and other problems that all transplant patients are subject to’’ , Rosengard said.

This clinical trial is the biggest heart transplant trial ever in the United States which is intended to enroll 128 patients.