Darren H Freed

Summary:

There is an urgent need for novel approaches to recovery, preservation and distribution of pediatric donor hearts in an effort to meet the growing demand. Continuous perfusion of donor hearts at normal body temperature has been proposed as a method for optimal preservation of heart function, but also as a method to recover and assess poorly functioning donor hearts so that they could also be used for life-saving transplants. The potential impact of this technology has not been previously examined in the pediatric population. The only commercially available device is not suited for pediatric hearts, thus there is a need for device and method development as well. Our project will develop a device for continuous perfusion of the donor heart, and will better define the impact this technology can make on utilization of donor hearts.