Beating Heart TransplantsAisling Cleary

Traditional Heart Transplants

• First heart transplant = performed in 1967

• Today 3,800 performed worldwide per year

• Traditionally transported in cooler on ice

Picture of first heart transplant in 1967

Traditional Transportation

• Traditional method = transported on ice

• Aka “Cold Ischemia”

• Maximum of 3- 4 hours to transport organ from donor to recipient

Problems with Traditional Transportation• Heart receives no blood flow to

muscle cells

• RESULT =

• Does not receive enough oxygen

• Does not receive essential nutrients

• Heart cells become ischemic

What is a Beating Heart Transplant?• Machine: Organ Care System

(OCS™) aka “Heart in a Box”

• Pumps oxygenated blood through heart

• Stimulates conditions of living human circulatory system

Benefits of Beating Heart Transplants

Heart to receive nutrients & O2

2x as much time to transplant

Transport along longer distances

More time to find right match/ recipient

In the Future: Possible international transplants Creation of “organ banks” More time to perform more complex surgeries More time means: Less mistakes, Better matches

MORE SAVED LIVES