A 55-year-old man from Champaign, Illinois, became the first recipient of a transplanted heart that was donated after circulatory death, through the use of new technology nicknamed a "Heart in a Box."
"This is one of the greatest developments that we’ve had since the initial heart transplant performed in 1969," said Dr. Duc Thinh Pham, director of heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support at Northwestern Medicine’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
The device is formally called "TransMedics Organ Care System (OCS) Heart." The portable "Heart in a Box" resuscitates a stopped heart and keeps the heart beating outside the human body until it can be transplanted.
The donor hearts come from documented organ donors who do not meet the criteria for brain death.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
"It is people that have had a devastating head injury or trauma, just can't be declared legally dead," said Dr. Benjamin Bryner, associate director of heart transplantation and mechanical support and director of the expanded donation program at Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
"Once a family has had their time to say their goodbyes, life support is withdrawn. We wait until the heart officially stops and then we have to go in very quickly,” Dr. Pham said.
The transplant team has about 30 minutes to connect the donor heart up to the "Heart in a Box" machine, which then allows it to be transported to Northwestern Medicine for transplantation. "It has the potential to really increase the number of transplants that we can do and shorten the wait time for our patients on the recipient wait list," Dr. Bryner said.
Local
Surgeons with Northwestern say the new technology will enable them to perform up to 30 percent more heart transplants every year.
"This is a huge opportunity for patients waiting heart transplantation" Dr. Pham said.
On Oct. 12, 2022, a transplant team at Northwestern procured its first donor heart using the "Heart in a Box" system and transplanted it into Jerry Dorsey, 55, from Champaign.
Dorsey's life expectancy was less than two weeks when the transplant occurred.
"This really, truly did save his life," Dr. Pham said, adding Dorsey is recovering from the successful transplant.
