Toronto hospital performs first Canadian heart transplant after circulatory death
Global News
Canada's first heart transplant using a donor after circulatory death could boost transplants by 30 per cent, giving more patients a second chance at life.
In a groundbreaking first for Canada, surgeons at Toronto’s University Health Network (UHN) have successfully completed a heart transplant using a donor whose heart had stopped beating, a technique known as donation after circulatory death.
Unlike traditional heart transplants that use organs from brain-dead donors whose hearts continue to beat, this new approach recovers hearts after life support is withdrawn, and the heart has stopped beating.
In early September, a team at UHN’s Toronto General Hospital transplanted a heart that had stopped beating after life support was withdrawn.
Dr. Ali Rabi, the cardiac surgeon at UHN’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre who led the surgery, said, “Before, we only used hearts from brain-dead donors whose hearts were still beating. Now, we can use hearts that have stopped beating after life support is withdrawn.”
This new method allows doctors to do the same surgery on more viable donors and increase the number of hearts available for use.
“These are donors who are not considered brain dead. They have a few basic reflexes but no prospect of recovery. That decision is made by the patient, their family, their treatment team, and a neurology team. The family then decides they do not want their loved one to continue like this.”
This innovative step in the world of organ transplants marks a turn for those waiting for a new heart.
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