A beating heart that was supported by an investigational organ preservation device was successfully transplanted into a 47-year-old man with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.
The beating heart was protected by its own nutrients and blood supply. The surgery was performed at UMPC by Kenneth R. McCurry, M.D., assistanct professor of surgery, division of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine and director of cardiopulmonary transplantation at UMPC’s Heart, Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute.
The patient, who is from Portage, Pa., is doing well and was discharged from the hospital on Monday, April 30. The donated heart, from a 46-year-old Caucasian male, was maintained in a beating state on the investigational Organ Care System (OCS) for two hours and 45 minutes.