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New Technique Developed at
The Toronto Hospital
Doubles Storage Time of Donor Hearts
TTH research allows for more distant procurement of donor hearts
June 18,1997... Donor hearts can now be harvested
from greater distances because of a simple preservation technique developed
by researchers at The Toronto Hospital.
By perfusing the donor heart during transport with blood collected from
the donor, the organ can be preserved for up to eight hours from its current
four.
The finding is published today in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.
"This is a very exciting idea and quite simple," says Dr. Christopher
Feindel, Surgical Director of The Toronto Hospital Heart Transplant Program
and principal investigator of the study. "We think, however, that some
of the simplest ideas are most often the best. This technique is easy to
implement and any hospital can do it," adds Dr. Feindel who's also
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto.
"This technique allows us to harvest donor hearts from further distances
such as northern Ontario and western Canada," says Dr. Vivek Rao, a
research fellow at The Toronto Hospital and winner of the American Heart
Association's Vivian Thomas Young Investigator Award for his contribution
to this research.
Currently when donor hearts are harvested they are immersed in ice during
transport and stored for a maximum of four hours before they are no longer
viable for transplantation. In animal experiments, however, The Toronto
Hospital research team showed that perfusing the donor heart intermittently
with blood collected from the donor safely preserves the heart for up to
six to eight hours.
"We've been able to show in the animal model
that the perfusion system is superior to the standard used today,"
Dr. Feindel says. The heart function -- tested before and after transplantation
-- had a better recovery with the transfusion technique compared to the
standard model.
Approximately, three litres of donor blood would be necessary to preserve
the viability of the heart in clinical transplants. The blood, which would
be collected during harvesting of the heart, would be filtered to remove
any small blood clots or particulate matter. It would then be slowly perfused
back into the heart through a small tube while the heart is enroute to the
hospital where the transplant is to take place. The only equipment that
would be required during transport would be a standard blood transfusion
bag.
The research team plans to implement this new technique at The Toronto Hospital
in the near future. In the meantime, the team is continuing with laboratory
experiments in the hopes of extending the safe storage of donor hearts for
up to 12 hours.
"We believe this will become the new standard for preserving donor
hearts," Dr. Feindel says.
The Toronto Hospital is Canada's largest acute care teaching facility with
approximately 1200 beds. It has gained a reputation of international excellence
in patient care, teaching and research in its four priority programs: transplantation,
oncology, neurosciences (brain and spinal cord diseases and injuries) and
cardiac sciences.
For more information, contact Josey Panetta,
Senior Media Relations Officer, The Toronto Hospital, 416 340-3303