Bypassing the main barriers linked to organ transplants, two new approaches developed by American researchers made it possible to “resuscitate” hearts.
Facing organ shortage
If the organs intended to be transplanted are usually taken from people in a state of brain death, to compensate for the shortage of grafts, for the past twenty years, these operations can also be carried out after the heart has stopped beating. In other words: in the event of an irreversible cardiorepiratory arrest.
Until now, the two options available have been the controversial normothermal regional infusion, consisting in circulating oxygenated blood in the donor’s body until the organ recoveries to beat, or its connection, after sampling, to a specific machine. Providing imperfect and less physiological resuscitation, the latter was also unsuitable for children’s hearts.
As part of works published in the New England Journal of Medicineteams from Duke and Vanderbilt University have developed two new approaches to overcome these challenges.
Two new promising approaches
Described as a ” Table cardiac resuscitation “, The first is made after sampling: connected to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation device, the heart will start again. Simpler, the approach also has the enormous advantage of being compatible with those of infants and children. It was used to successfully transplant this organ into a 3 month old baby.
The second implies the injection of a cold “ultra-oxygenated” solution into the heart once the death has been observed, allowing it to be maintained “alive For ten hours. Adapted to all age categories, she offered first promising results.
« The three transplanted hearts had normal biventricular function, and no sign of acute cell rejection or mediated by antibodies or complications were observed during the perioperative period “Write the researchers. According to them, its simplicity and lower cost make it possible to envisage its clinical use on a very large scale.
Earlier this year, researchers had filmed the formation of a heart for the very first time.
