One heart transplanted successfully twice

Abstract

We report the first successful reuse of a previously transplanted heart after perioperative brain death of the first recipient. The second recipient was a 66-year-old man suffering from end-stage ischemic cardiomyopathy. The intra- and postoperative course of the retransplantation was completely uneventful. At the time of writing, more than 2 years after reuse of the graft, the patient remains in New York Heart Association class I. This procedure, which proved to be possible under certain optimal conditions, should be considered in the case of brain death of a graft recipient, particularly with regard to the ongoing donor shortage.