Tag: heart transplants

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New Technique Could Increase the Number of Hearts Available for Transplant

On By ModernMedia

The method, rapid recovery with extended ultra-oxygenated preservation, involves flushing the donor heart with a cold oxygenated preservation solution after death.

Photo by Natanael Melchor on Unsplash

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have developed a groundbreaking new method for the recovery of hearts from deceased organ donors after circulatory death (DCD).

The method, rapid recovery with extended ultra-oxygenated preservation (REUP), involves flushing the donor heart with a cold oxygenated preservation solution after death. This avoids the disadvantages of two existing preservation methods, both of which reanimate the heart, one that has ethical questions and another that is expensive.

The former method known as normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) involves reanimating the heart in the deceased donor’s body, which raises ethical concerns for some and is not allowed in all states or countries. The latter uses ex situ perfusion systems that are costly and laborious, and provide an imperfect and less physiologic reanimation of the heart.

The new method has similar outcomes to existing methods but is simpler and much less expensive, said first author Aaron Williams, MD, in an article just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He said the technique has great potential to expand the number of donor hearts available by making organ preservation technology more widely available worldwide and expanding the use of DCD hearts.

“It’s something that has never been done in the field of heart transplantation with success,” he said. “I think this is really going to be a game changer. This is going to be a technique that’s going to essentially have worldwide applicability.”

The VUMC team was successful in deploying the method in donor hearts used in three transplants, starting in November 2024. The technique consists of the use of a flush circuit to oxygenate two litres of cold preservation solution that includes packed red cells, del Nido cardioplegia and other additives. To date, VUMC has used the method for 20 transplants, Williams said, with excellent outcomes – similar to, if not better than, the existing techniques.

“This arose out of the problems with the other two methods; the ethical issues with the one and the cost with the other,” Williams said. “We have all been thinking about these issues for some time now. We, as a team, came up with this cardiac preservation solution and technique that helps to resuscitate and protect these DCD hearts well so they can be used for transplantation.”

Williams said the technique has been successful in preserving hearts for more than four hours and to as many as eight.

The use of DCD hearts has changed the transplant field significantly. Over the last five years, Vanderbilt’s heart transplant program has been a leader in utilising hearts from DCD donors, hearts that were previously discarded because they were determined to be too injured and too high risk for subsequent problems. Special preservation techniques that Vanderbilt uses have made it possible to recover DCD hearts and support them for up to 10 hours prior to transplantation. This allows Vanderbilt thoracic organ recovery teams to travel farther in search of organs and add hundreds of organs to the donor pool.

Prior to 2020, Vanderbilt only transplanted organs from DBD (donation after brain death) donors. Like DCD donors, DBD donors have sustained devastating, non-recoverable neurologic injury. Unlike DBD donors, however, DCD donors don’t yet meet formal brain death criteria – as such, the methods that are used for withdrawal of donor life support and surgical retrieval of DCD versus DBD organs differs.

Williams said the new technique described in the paper has only been used on donor hearts, and further study is needed to see if it can be applied to other donor organs, such as livers, kidneys, pancreas and lungs. The technique could also be applied to paediatric transplants. All told, it could increase the pool of available donors and save lives through transplantation.

Source: Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Categories : Cardiovascular Disease General InterestTags :

Two Heart Transplants, One Epic Ride

On By ModernMedia

Four Cyclists Take on the 2025 KAP sani2c to Inspire South Africans with a Message of Hope

L-R_Steph Bester CEO of AllLife with Billy McLeod

From 8 to 10 May 2025, four cyclists will take on one of South Africa’s most iconic and challenging mountain bike stage races – the KAP sani2c. Covering 265 kilometres over three days from the Southern Drakensberg to Scottburgh on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, the event is known for its tough terrain, stunning scenery, and relentless pace. But this year, one team will be racing with more than just medals in mind.

Team Change of Heart is made up of two heart transplant recipients – Billy Macleod (56) and Pedro Basson (20) – and their two experienced cycling partners: Steph Bester, CEO of AllLife, and long-time cycling companion Guy Dudley. Together, they’re not just riding to finish – they’re riding to inspire.

Billy, once an accomplished cyclist and triathlete, was sidelined for six years by heart disease and given just two weeks to live before receiving his transplant.          

He made a remarkable comeback in 2024 when he became the first South African heart transplant recipient to complete the KAP sani2c. This year, Billy returns with a renewed purpose – not just to ride, but to support 20-year-old Pedro through his very first stage race. For Billy, this ride is about passing the baton of hope and helping another transplant recipient believe in the impossible.

Pedro, the youngest team member at just 20 years old, will be attempting his first-ever mountain bike stage race. Having received his transplant as a teenager, Pedro’s journey to recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. Taking on sani2c is a bold and symbolic step, one he hopes will encourage other young people with chronic health conditions to dream big and push boundaries.

“This is more than a race – it’s a celebration of life and second chances,” says Steph Bester, who was set to ride alongside Billy last year but had to withdraw at the last minute due to a sudden illness. “Missing out in 2024 was heartbreaking for me, especially because this cause and this team are so close to my heart. I can’t wait to finally be on the bike with them this year. Billy and Pedro are living proof that your story doesn’t end with a diagnosis. At AllLife, we believe in the power of resilience, and this team embodies that belief. It’s an honour to support them – not only on the bike but in sharing their powerful message with the country.”

The team will be riding on e-bikes, enabling them to manage pace, terrain, and energy levels more effectively while still tackling the full challenge of the race. For Pedro, who has never raced before, the support of his three teammates – all experienced sani2c finishers – is crucial.

“Knowing I have a team behind me who understands the journey and is there to support every climb and descent makes all the difference,” Pedro shared. “It’s not just about the bike – it’s about proving to myself that anything is possible.”

AllLife is once again using this race to raise awareness for Hero777, a non-profit foundation focused on increasing organ and tissue donor registrations in South Africa. The foundation is deeply personal to the AllLife family as they deal with so many people in need of transplants daily.

It takes a community that truly understands both the unique challenges individuals face and the deep love for cycling to make something like this possible. The team is incredibly grateful for the support from AllLife, the wider cycling community, and especially race founder Glen Haw (Farmer Glen). Pedro will ride an e-bike generously sponsored by Cannondale, allowing him to tackle this life-affirming challenge alongside his team.

Whether it’s climbing steep hills or sharing laughs around the campfire, Team Change of Heart is ready to show that with support, courage, and a whole lot of heart – anything is possible.

Follow their journey on Instagram and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AllLifeSA and https://www.instagram.com/alllife_sa), and visit www.odf.org.za to learn more about organ and tissue donation or register as a donor today.

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags : 1 Comment

Patient Doing Well after World-first Pig Heart Transplant

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Piron Guillaume on Unsplash

David Bennett, a 57 year old US man, is doing well after being the world’s first human transplant of a pig heart, according to the man’s son, David Bennett Jr.

When his father first told him of the pig heart option, his son was incredulous, telling the BBC: “I didn’t believe him, I thought he was suffering from delirium at first.”

However, when he did some research on the work done, he realised it was a reality and that they were “walking into the unknown”.

He added that according to Dr Bartley Griffith, who performed the surgery, his father has a good prognosis of 6–9 months. The experimental seven-hour procedure at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore was considered the last hope of saving Mr Bennett’s life, though it is currently unclear what his long-term chances of survival are. 

“It was either die or do this transplant,” Mr Bennett explained a day before the surgery, adding that it was his “last choice”.

Dr Griffith said heart failure and an irregular heartbeat made him ineligible for a human heart transplant or a heart pump.

Xenotransplantation, as these inter-species transplants are called, have failed, largely because patients’ bodies quickly rejected the animal organ. Notably, in 1984, Baby Fae, a dying infant, lived 21 days with a baboon heart. 

What makes this attempt different is that the Maryland surgeons used a heart from a pig that had been genetically modified to remove a sugar in its cells that’s responsible for that hyper-fast organ rejection. Many biotech companies are working on adapting pig organs for xenotransplantation.

“I think you can characterise it as a watershed event,” Dr David Klassen, chief medical officer at the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees the US transplant system.

Dr Klassen nevertheless cautioned that it’s only a first tentative step into exploring whether xenotransplantation might finally work this time.

The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees such experiments, allowed the surgery under what’s called a “compassionate use” emergency authorisation, available when a patient with a life-threatening condition has no other options.

Surgeon Bartley Griffith said the surgery would bring the world “one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis”. At present, 17 people die every day in the US waiting for a transplant, with more than 100 000 reportedly on the waiting list. A record 3800 heart transplants were done last year, according to the UNOS.

Source: BBC News

Categories : Paediatrics TransplantsTags :

Novel Transplant Technique Yields More Donor Hearts for Children

On By ModernMedia

Two hospitals in the UK have reported great success in a new heart transplant technique, resulting in a record number of children receiving heart transplants in 2020.

Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have collaborated on a new procedure which has enabled a much larger supply of donor hearts for children, who have had to wait two and a half times as long as adults for a donation.

Royal Papworth Hospital was the first in Europe to harvest non-beating hearts from adult patients whose life support had been withdrawn, and then been restarted for transplantation, instead of waiting for brain death with a still-beating heart.

By using a special device called the organ care system, surgeons can effectively restart the heart and keep it healthy until transplantation. The first non-beating heart transplant was performed in Australia in 2014. Since February last year, the two hospitals have been offering the service to children.

The use of non-beating hearts had previously been ruled out for transplantation until recently, due to tissue damage from lack of oxygen. The new organ care system, which supplies the heart with oxygenated blood and nutrients, can be used to keep the heart alive and pumping outside the body for up to 12 hours. This is long enough for checks to be performed prior to the transplant procedure, or even transferred to another hospital.

GOSH and Freeman Hospital are the only two centres in the UK with paediatric heart transplant units. In the past five years, 39 children died while waiting for donors.

“Some patients will just not survive the wait,” said Jacob Simmonds, a transplant surgeon at GOSH. “There is also a risk that while waiting they could damage other organs, particularly the lungs.” 

Last year, six paediatric heart transplants were carried out in the UK using the new procedure, and only four elsewhere in the world. The organs came from adult donors, as the organ care system is designed to accommodate hearts from people weighing over 50kg. Development is being carried out on a system which could allow harvesting organs from children. This would increase the available transplants for infants and babies, who have a critical lack of donors.

Source: BBC News