Revolutionizing Donor Heart Procurement: Innovations and Future Directions for Enhanced Transplantation Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Transplantation Medicine
• Surgical Innovation

Background:

• Heart failure remains a significant public health issue, with heart transplantation being the primary treatment for end-stage cases.
• Limited donor heart availability is a major barrier to successful transplantation, impacting patient access to life-saving treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in donor heart procurement and preservation techniques.
• To explore strategies for expanding the donor pool and optimizing donor heart utilization.
• To discuss future directions in heart transplantation, including xenotransplantation and artificial intelligence.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on donor heart procurement, recovery, evaluation, and preservation.
• Analysis of innovative technologies such as normothermic machine perfusion and hypothermic oxygenated perfusion.
• Examination of extended-criteria, post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and high-risk donor utilization.

Main Results:

• Significant progress in donor heart procurement has expanded the donor pool and improved clinical outcomes.
• Innovative techniques like normothermic machine perfusion and novel preservation methods enhance organ viability.
• Utilizing extended-criteria and high-risk donors increases availability without compromising patient outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Recent advancements in donor heart procurement and preservation are crucial for addressing donor shortages.
• Innovative technologies and expanded donor criteria offer promising solutions to improve heart transplantation success.
• Future research in xenotransplantation, biomarkers, and AI holds potential for further optimizing donor heart utilization and patient outcomes.