Expanding the donor pool: use of a donor heart having undergone recent cardiac surgery.
The current shortage of donor organs is a well-recognized global phenomenon. The goal of contemporary transplant practice is to optimize and expand the organ donor pool. Despite biologic and technologic advancements, the single most important limitation remains underutilization and non-recovery of potential organs. We report the use of a donor cardiac organ from a 5-year-old child who had undergone recent (<72 hours) closure of an atrial septal defect. The heart was harvested successfully and implanted with no apparent hemodynamic compromise.
Drummond-Webb
Jonathan J
JJ
Pediatric Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Arkansas Children's Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas 72202, USA. Drummond-WebbJonathan@uams.edu
Schmitz
Michael L
ML
Johnson
Charles E
CE
Frazier
Elizabeth A
EA
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000379:methods*