Boston, MA April 10, 2008 Data from experimental work on the use of organs from cardiac arrested donors will be presented this week at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantations 28th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions. Utilizing donors after cardiac death (DCD), also known as non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) has the potential to overcome a critical shortage of suitable donor organs for lung, and possibly heart, transplantation.
In addition, strategies for organ preservation during transport from donor to recipient will be a primary topic of discussion at the ISHLT meeting running through Saturday at the Boston Marriott Copley Place and Hynes Convention Center.
There is a worldwide shortage of quality donor organs for transplantation. This year, we are going to hear about clinical updates on non-heart-beating lung donors, and also exciting new experimental work on the possible use of hearts from cardiac-arrested donors, said Steven Tsui, M.D., F.R.C.S., Director of Transplantation and Surgeon, Papworth Hospital, U.K. In addition, there has been a lot of interest in techniques aiming to maintain, and possibly improve, donor organ function once they have been removed from the donor.
NON-HEART-BEATING DONORS
Organ transplantation is currently limited by a shortage of suitable donors, which results in longer waiting times for patients and a substantial risk of dying before transplantation.
Promising research results suggest the potential to immediately increase the number of lungs available for transplantation. Although thousands of patients are on lung transplant waiting lists around the world, only a small percentage actually receive transplants. And likewise, a small proportion of individuals identified as organ donors actually have suitable lungs for transplantation.
During the ISHLT mini-oral session I: The Non-Heart Beating Donor for Heart Transplantation, Ayyaz Ali
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| Contact: Lauren Mason lmason@masonpr.com 210-857-2521 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Source:Eurekalert |