In the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taiwan, surgeons conducted the first heart transplant without stopping the heart. The donor organ continued to beat throughout the procedure thanks to a system for maintaining blood flow and oxygen supply, helping avoid ischemic injury to the tissues.
The operation was performed on a 49-year-old woman with a severe heart condition. The patient recovered quickly, and tests showed minimal damage to the heart muscle.
In conventional heart transplants, the donor heart is removed and placed in a cold solution for preservation, which increases the risk of tissue damage due to lack of oxygen. This technique of transplanting without ischemic time may improve the safety of the procedure and patients’ recovery outcomes, and could reduce the need for post-operative medication over time.
