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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Normothermic Ex Situ Heart Perfusion in Working Mode: Assessment of Cardiac Function and Metabolism
Published on: January 12, 2019
A whole blood-based perfusate provides superior preservation of myocardial function during ex vivo heart perfusion
Christopher W White1, Devin Hasanally2, Paul Mundt3
1Cardiac Sciences Program, University of Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Background:
Ex vivo heart perfusion (EVHP) provides the opportunity to resuscitate unused donor organs and facilitates assessments of myocardial function that are required to demonstrate organ viability before transplantation. We sought to evaluate the effect of different oxygen carriers on the preservation of myocardial function during EVHP.
Methods:
Twenty-seven pig hearts were perfused ex vivo in a normothermic beating state for 6 hours and transitioned into working mode for assessments after 1 (T1), 3 (T3), and 5 (T5) hours. Hearts were allocated to 4 groups according to the perfusate composition. Red blood cell concentrate (RBC, n = 6), whole blood (RBC+Plasma, n = 6), an acellular hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC, n = 8), or HBOC plus plasma (HBOC+Plasma, n = 7) were added to STEEN Solution (XVIVO Perfusion, Goteborg, Sweden) to achieve a perfusate hemoglobin concentration of 40 g/liter.
Results:
The perfusate composition affected the preservation of systolic (T5 dP/dtmax: RBC+Plasma = 903 ± 99, RBC = 771 ± 77, HBOC+Plasma = 691 ± 82, HBOC = 563 ± 52 mm Hg/sec; p = 0.047) and diastolic (T5 dP/dtmin: RBC+Plasma = -574 ± 48, RBC = -492 ± 63, HBOC+Plasma = -326 ± 32, HBOC = -268 ± 22 mm Hg/sec; p < 0.001) function, and the development of myocardial edema (weight gain: RBC+Plasma = 6.6 ± 0.9, RBC = 6.6 ± 1.2, HBOC+Plasma = 9.8 ± 1.7, HBOC = 16.3 ± 1.9 g/hour; p < 0.001) during EVHP. RBC+Plasma hearts exhibited less histologic evidence of myocyte damage (injury score: RBC+Plasma = 0.0 ± 0.0, RBC = 0.8 ± 0.3, HBOC+Plasma = 2.6 ± 0.2, HBOC = 1.75 ± 0.4; p < 0.001) and less troponin-I release (troponin-I fold-change T1-T5: RBC+Plasma = 7.0 ± 1.7, RBC = 13.1 ± 1.6, HBOC+Plasma = 20.5 ± 1.1, HBOC = 16.7 ± 5.8; p < 0.001). Oxidative stress was minimized by the addition of plasma to RBC and HBOC hearts (oxidized phosphatidylcholine compound fold-change T1-T5: RBC+Plasma = 1.83 ± 0.20 vs RBC = 2.31 ± 0.20, p < 0.001; HBOC+Plasma = 1.23 ± 0.17 vs HBOC = 2.80 ± 0.28, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
A whole blood-based perfusate (RBC+Plasma) minimizes injury and provides superior preservation of myocardial function during EVHP. The beneficial effect of plasma on the preservation of myocardial function requires further investigation.
