donor hearts – Allocare

December 4, 2023December 4, 2023

Rude Awakening on Trying to Keep Donor Hearts Usable With Common Hormone Infusions

— Long-standing practice of levothyroxine supplementation fails in randomized trial

By Nicole Lou

Giving unstable brain-dead heart donors intravenous levothyroxine did not lead to more hearts being transplanted, a randomized trial showed.

In hemodynamically unstable potential donors, administering the thyroid hormone supplement after brain death did not significantly improve donor heart utilization compared with saline placebo, with transplantation rates of 54.9% and 53.2%, respectively (adjusted risk ratio 1.01, 95% CI 0.97-1.07), reported Rajat Dhar, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, and colleagues. Read the article in MedPage Today.

June 16, 2023June 16, 2023

Study shows new heart transplant method

ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jen Ashton explains a study that shows a new method of procuring donor hearts, potentially increasing the number of eligible transplants. Watch the video on ABC News here.

April 25, 2022August 16, 2022

Vital Signs: Working to better preserve hearts for transplant

Studies have shown that hearts and other donor organs are very sensitive to the temperatures at which they are preserved during transport. Temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius have been shown to have a negative effect on outcomes for transplant patients and potentially be linked to complications related to the viability of a donor organ for transplant.

Another challenge is related to the lack of data related to organ conditions during transport. With the standard method of preserving organs — packing them in ice — it is difficult to know the precise temperature at which a donated organ is being preserved during transport. Read the full article in The Daily Progress.