Stanford Medicine surgeons perform first beating-heart transplants from cardiac death donors

Surgeons at Stanford Medicine believe the new technique, which has now been performed on six patients, will improve health outcomes for recipients and boost the pool of available organs.

By Roxanna Van Norman
Using an organ from a donor who underwent cardiac death, Stanford Medicine surgeons transplanted a heart while it was beating — the first time such a procedure has been achieved.

Initially performed by Joseph Woo, MD, professor and chair of cardiothoracic surgery, and his team in October, the technique has since been used in adult and pediatric patients five more times by surgeons at Stanford Medicine. Read more from Stanford Medicine News Center.