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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

A High-Fidelity Porcine Model of Orthotopic Heart Transplantation Following Donation after Circulatory Death
07:08

A High-Fidelity Porcine Model of Orthotopic Heart Transplantation Following Donation after Circulatory Death

Published on: June 6, 2025

690

Heart transplantation from donation after circulatory determined death

Aravinda Page1, Simon Messer1, Stephen R Large1

  • 1Department of Transplantation, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Papworth Everard, Cambridgeshire, UK.

Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgery
|March 2, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Heart transplantation from donation after circulatory determined death (DCD) offers a promising solution to donor heart shortages. Recent advancements show DCD heart transplants are comparable to traditional donation after brain death (DBD) procedures.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Transplantation Medicine
  • Organ Donation

Background:

  • Heart transplantation is the optimal treatment for end-stage heart failure, significantly improving patient quality of life.
  • The primary limitation to heart transplantation is the scarcity of suitable donor organs.
  • Historically, heart donation has relied exclusively on donors following brain stem death (DBD).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the viability and outcomes of heart transplantation using organs from donors after circulatory determined death (DCD).
  • To address the global shortage of donor hearts by exploring DCD as a supplementary source.
  • To compare the efficacy of DCD heart transplantation with the established DBD standard.

Main Methods:

  • Review of established DCD heart transplant programs.
  • Analysis of organ perfusion and retrieval techniques for DCD donors.
  • Comparative outcome analysis between DCD and DBD heart transplant recipients.

Main Results:

  • Recent developments in organ perfusion and retrieval have made DCD hearts a viable option.
  • Established DCD heart transplant programs report encouraging and comparable results to DBD.
  • DCD heart transplantation is emerging as a critical strategy to overcome donor organ scarcity.

Conclusions:

  • Heart transplantation from DCD donors is a safe and effective procedure.
  • DCD heart transplantation offers comparable outcomes to DBD, providing a vital solution to donor shortages.
  • The advancement of DCD heart transplantation represents a significant development in the field, expanding therapeutic options for heart failure patients.

Keywords:
Heartcirculatory deathtransplant

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