Brain Death

PHILADELPHIA — Using normothermic regional perfusion to maintain donatable organs after circulatory death may not impact public perceptions of organ donation, data show.

Researchers found a complement inhibitor can help reduce rejection.

Data show 6-month survival after transplantation with a donor heart reanimated with extracorporeal nonischemic perfusion after circulatory death was similar to 6-month survival after transplantation of a donor heart after brain death.

Patients with heart transplants involving donation after circulatory death have no detectable difference in survival compared with those with hearts donated after brain death, according to a study published in Circulation: Heart Failure.

Several knowledge gaps remain in xenotransplantation despite the successful procedure of a porcine kidney into a brain-dead recipient, according to a presentation at the 2022 Innovations in Dialysis: Expediting Advances Symposium.

A team at NYU Langone Health successfully transplanted two genetically engineered pig hearts into recently deceased humans in June and July, part of an effort to create a xenotransplantation protocol for people with heart disease.

Recipients of hearts donated after circulatory death had similar outcomes to recipients of hearts donated after brain death, researchers reported.

A study that evaluated the impact of organ procurement timing after donor brain death found longer delays were not associated with “inferior” allograft outcomes following kidney transplantation.

A team at Duke University in December became the first in the United States to perform a donation after circulatory death heart transplant.