Reanimation-less Rapid Recovery of a Donor Heart After Circulatory Death With Prolonged 8-Hour Ischemic Time

Abstract

Cardiac allografts from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors have helped increase the donor pool for heart transplantation. Techniques that reanimate the heart, such as ex situ perfusion or thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP), are typically employed. We recently described a novel method for the "reanimation-less" rapid recovery of DCD hearts for transplantation. Here, we highlight using our rapid recovery with extended ultra-oxygenation preservation (REUP) technique combined with 10C static cold storage to recover an older donor allograft (45 years of age) with a prolonged 8-hour ischemic time (477 minutes). The recipient underwent successful heart transplantation with subsequent normal biventricular function and excellent postoperative outcomes out to 8 months following surgery.

Keywords: Heart Transplant; donation after circulatory death; prolonged ischemia; rapid recovery; ultra-oxygenation preservation.