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05/06/2006
First beating heart transplant conducted in UK
Doctors have performed the UK's first successful beating-heart transplant.
A team at the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge carried out the procedure on a 58-year-old man two weeks ago.
The new technique involved keeping the donated heart warm and beating throughout the procedure.
Until now, donated organs have been packed in ice for transportation after being given a high dose of potassium. However, patients need to receive the organ within four to six hours or else the organ is unusable.
However, the new technique allows doctors to hook the heart up to a machine which keeps it beating with warm oxygenated blood flowing through it. This allows the heart to be kept outside the body longer and enables it to travel further to reach the recipient.
Professor Bruce Rosengard, who led the team conducting the transplant, said that the transplant patient was doing "extremely well".
He said that the technique could enable the number of transplants being carried out to at least double.
(KMcA)
A team at the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge carried out the procedure on a 58-year-old man two weeks ago.
The new technique involved keeping the donated heart warm and beating throughout the procedure.
Until now, donated organs have been packed in ice for transportation after being given a high dose of potassium. However, patients need to receive the organ within four to six hours or else the organ is unusable.
However, the new technique allows doctors to hook the heart up to a machine which keeps it beating with warm oxygenated blood flowing through it. This allows the heart to be kept outside the body longer and enables it to travel further to reach the recipient.
Professor Bruce Rosengard, who led the team conducting the transplant, said that the transplant patient was doing "extremely well".
He said that the technique could enable the number of transplants being carried out to at least double.
(KMcA)
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