Running on Ice: Heart transplants get a second life

All thawed out

There has been some new research around organ donors. Researchers have discovered a molecular process that occurs when donor hearts are preserved in cold storage, which contributes to failure after transplant, a study in both humans and animals shows. The team, a collaboration between Michigan Medicine and Mayo Clinic, also found a therapy to reduce that damage using medication that is typically prescribed for high blood pressure.

The current transplant process typically involves a cooler of ice, after the organ has been infused with a cold preservation solution. The longer the heart is stored like this, the higher the chances are that a transplant will have issues and additional complications post-surgery. 

“When a donor heart is stored in the cold, physical changes occur in cardiac cells that cannot be seen by the naked eye,” said senior author Paul Tang, M.D., Ph.D., a heart transplant surgeon who conducted research with collaborators at both the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.