Doctors find new method of heart preservation and transplantation

For the first time in the world, doctors at St Vincent's Hospital, Australia have successfully transplanted a dead heart into the body of a patient.

Organ Care Heart Preservation System

For the first time in the world, doctors at St Vincent's Hospital, Australia have successfully transplanted a dead heart into the body of a patient. By using a new preservation method, researched and developed by the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in collaboration with St Vincent's Hospital. With this new technology, doctors can completely transplant hearts that have stopped beating for a few minutes to more than half an hour.

“When the body dies, the heart gradually loses oxygen for about 20 to 30 minutes, causing extensive damage to the tissues inside. That is why people have always considered the heart to be one of the most difficult organs to transplant and preserve. However, with the Organ Care system, the heart can now be preserved in the most perfect artificial environment. This is a compact system, so it can be brought to any hospital in Australia,” said Professor Bob Graham, CEO of the Victor Chang Heart Research Institute.

The Organ Care system allows to recreate the body's environment in the most perfect way, from temperature, humidity, simulating signals from the brain, along with some special chemicals injected into the heart. Thanks to that, the heart continues to function and beat normally in an artificial preservation environment. Thanks to that, doctors can preserve it for more than 30 minutes to transport it to other hospitals where patients are waiting for a transplant.

This new technology is the result of more than 20 years of research. To date, St Vincent's Hospital has successfully performed three heart transplants using this new technology and hopes it will soon be applied worldwide. According to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, this medical breakthrough will increase the number of successful heart transplants by more than 30%, opening up new hope for patients.

According to khoahoc.com.vn