Prolonged Donation Withdrawal Ischaemic Time (DWIT) Does Not Impact on DCD Heart Transplant Outcomes

Adult heart transplantation from Donation After Circulatory Determined Death (DCD) donors is now established in four heart transplant centers across the globe. The protocols for acceptable donation withdrawal ischaemia time, DWIT (period from withdrawal of life supportive therapy (WLST) to onset of heart perfusion) vary from 30 minutes to 4 hours. If the 30-minute guideline is adhered to many donors will not meet criteria within this short ischaemic period, resulting in the loss of some donor hearts that may have been acceptable for transplantation.

Source: The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation - March 31, 2018 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: S. Messer, A. Page, M. Berman, S. Tsui, S. Large. Source Type: research