“Heart in a Box”
Transmedics Organ Care System:
Doctors call it a “beating heart transplant,” but it’s more commonly known as “heart in a box.” In the new method, doctors use a machine to keep a transplanted heart viable outside a patient’s body for up to 12 hours. The machine pumps oxygenated blood through the heart, keeping it in good condition longer.It was life-saving for DeStefano, New England’s first patient. The mother of two hopes to be home from Massachusetts General Hospital next week.Right now, about half of all donor hearts are wasted with the current method of putting them on ice because that can only keep the heart useable for four hours.
“Heart in a box” transplants are common in Europe. The device was created by Andover company TransMedics Inc.
—Source: The Boston Channel, 2012
