Successful heart transplantation from donation after euthanasia with distant procurement using normothermic regional perfusion and cold storage.
Vincent Tchana-SatoGregory HansJanne BrouckaertOlivier DetryJohan Van CleemputSteffen RexOceane JaquetErwin De TroyMai-Linh Nguyen TrungArnaud AncionRaf Van den EyndeIsabelle LievensMarc Gilbert LagnyMarie-Hélène DelbouilleJean Olivier DefraigneDidier LedouxFilip RegaPublished in: American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (2022)
While euthanasia has been legalized in a growing number of countries, organ donation after euthanasia is only performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Canada. Moreover, the clinical practice of heart donation after euthanasia has never been reported before. We describe the first case of a heart donated after euthanasia, reconditioned with thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion, preserved using cold storage while being transported to a neighboring transplant center, and then successfully transplanted following a procurement warm ischemic time of 17 min. Heart donation after euthanasia using thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion is feasible, it could expand the heart donor pool and reduce waiting lists in countries where organ donation after euthanasia can be performed.