A relatively new method of heart transplantation, which allows for the use of hearts donated after circulatory death (DCD), could expand the pool of available donor hearts by a projected 30%.
Traditionally, hearts could not be donated after cardiac death. The DCD method in the study uses a machine to keep the heart pumping, making it viable for donation, but also enabling the organ to travel further.
A study led by Duke Health physicians, appearing online June 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that DCD hearts were equivalent to hearts procured through the current standard of care.
The study enrolled 180 patients, with half receiving DCD hearts and the other half receiving brain death hearts. It compared risk-adjusted survival at six months and found a survival rate of 94% for those who received a DCD heart and 90% for those who received hearts donated after brain death.
Researchers also looked at serious adverse events 30 days after transplantation, with the mean number of such events at 0.2 for DCD and 0.1 for the standard donated hearts.
