New Technology Increases Number Of Donor Hearts Available

BOSTON (CBS) – Many patients on the heart transplant list die waiting for a heart, but a local company has found an incredible way to significantly increase the number of donor hearts available. Something like a “heart in a box”. For the past eight months, Graham Waugh from Belchertown has been waiting for a new heart. Though he remains optimistic, he wonders whether he’ll live long enough to get one. “When you know that you’re going to be given a second chance,” Graham says, “Then the wait begins and you begin to wonder will I last to my second chance?” Graham is one of 4,000 Americans on the heart transplant list, but only about 60% will receive a heart. Many donor hearts are rejected either because they’re more than four hours away from the recipient or they wouldn’t survive traditional transport on ice. “Once a donor heart is outside of the body and not getting perfused and getting nutrients and oxygen, after about four hours, it does not do well,” explains Dr. Jose Garcia, a transplant surgeon at Mass. General Hospital and Graham’s doctor. TransMedics, a medical device company in Andover, MA, has created technology that could make many more hearts available for patients waiting on the transplant list. It’s called the Organ Care System or OCS and unlike a cooler of ice, it’s designed to keep a heart warm, alive, and pumping until it reaches its destination. “Because we are keeping the heart oxygen...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Local News Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated Local Watch Listen Dr. Mallika Marshall Heart Transplant Mass General Hospital Organ Care System Source Type: news