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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
Cardiac Loading using Passive Left Atrial Pressurization and Passive Afterload for Graft Assessment
Published on: August 2, 2024
Prolonged cardiac allograft ischemic time--no impact on long-term survival but at what cost?
Silvana F Marasco1, Donald S Esmore, Meroula Richardson
1The Alfred, CJOB Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. s.marasco@alfred.org.au
Introduction:
The aim of this paper was to review the outcomes of cardiac transplantation with regards to short- and long-term survival, focusing particularly on patients who receive organs with long ischemic times and the resource utilization necessary to support such patients through their postoperative period.
Methods:
A retrospective review of 420 consecutive cardiac transplants in a single institution was undertaken.
Results:
The five- and 10-yr survival rates for the entire group were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.72-0.80) and 0.60 (0.54-0.66). There was no decrease in mid- or long-term survival in patients who received organs with ischemic times over 300 min. Longer donor organ ischemic time was not associated with increased 30 d mortality but was significantly associated with longer intensive care bed stay, increased incidence of primary graft failure, need for mechanical support, and complications such as acute renal failures.
Conclusions:
Although using donor organs with longer ischemic times for cardiac transplantation does not impact on survival, there is a significantly increased utilization of resources to ensure these patients survive the postoperative period.
