The first heart transplant was 40 years ago and the patient lasted a little over 2 weeks. That may not have been lengthy but it sure was ground breaking. Now 4 decades later we are performing less and less heart transplants. Why?
Could it be the ability to keep very sick hearts alive and working effectively for longer amounts of time then previous? Quite possibly! Could it be that even though there are more registered organ donors, our organs aren’t exactly what they used to be? High cholesterol, smoking, alcohol abuse and older donors… a different type of death.
What do you …read more

A Heart failure pump has been developed to assist those patients awaiting their gift of life. I really do hope that this is a success.
The pump is implanted into the patient’s body and pumps blood from the weakened left ventricle to the rest of the body at the same rate as a healthy heart. In addition to helping 75 percent of patients stay alive for at least six months, or until a donor heart becomes available, the device assists patients’ original hearts regain function, thereby allowing other organs to heal by restoring blood flow.
The device is about the size …read more

Protected by its own nutrients and blood supply, a beating heart supported by an investigational organ preservation device was successfully transplanted into a 47-year-old man with congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension on Sunday, April 8.
Very cool stuff! This pioneering surgery took place at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine using a heart that was maintained in a beating state on the investigational Organ Care System (OCS) for two hours and 45 minutes.
The recipient was discharged from the hospital on April 30th in good shape. The OCS keeps organs in their physiological, beating state during transportation to …read more