Medicine Swiss doctors transplant heart after record-long transport
The Inselspital in Bern has kept a heart alive for twelve hours outside a human body and then successfully transplanted it. This is a European record, the hospital announced on Monday.
17.02.2025, 14:40
17.02.2025, 14:41
SDA
According to the Inselspital, the cardiac surgery team was unable to transport the heart by plane from the donor hospital to the transplantation hospital as planned due to poor weather conditions. They therefore decided to travel by car overland between the two hospitals.
According to the Inselspital, the patient with the new heart is doing very well. "The ability to keep a heart beating outside the body for a longer period of time without damage is an absolute game changer for Swiss transplant medicine," David Reineke, Head of Cardiac Surgery at Inselspital, was quoted as saying in the press release.
New technology saves lives
With the introduction of ex vivo perfusion, it has been possible to cut the waiting time for a suitable organ in three in a very short time and double the number of patients who receive an organ, Reineke continued.
In ex vivo perfusion, organs outside the body are perfused with a solution containing nutrients, oxygen and medication necessary to maintain the organ in optimal condition. Previously, donor organs were disconnected from the bloodstream and rinsed cold during removal. They were then kept cool in transport boxes filled with ice. According to the Inselspital, a heart survived for a maximum of four hours.
