In a world first, surgeons at St Vincent Hospital, Sydney, Australia successfully carried out transplant of hearts that were donated after circulatory death in 2014. This transplant comes as the result of combined research between the victors Chang Cardiac research Institute and St Vincent Hospital. The two clinics created a special preservation solution which works in conjunction with a “heart in a box” machine, known as the ex vivo organ care system. The OCS allows the donor heart to be connected to a sterile circuit which restores the heart beat and keep it warm; limiting the adverse affects associated with previous methods which saw hearts kept in an ice box.

Described as the biggest heart transplant breakthrough in a decade, the successful surgery has profound implications for reducing the shortage of donor organs, the director of St Vincent Hospital Heart Lung Transplant Unit, professor peter Mac Donald, said in October2014. Previously transplant units relied solely on donor hearts from brain dead patients whose hearts were still beating.

The patient who had the transplant in October 2014 was Jan Damen, 43 and a couple of months prior to that Michelle Gribilar, 57, become the first person to have the procedure done. Ms. Gribilar was suffering from congenital heart failure. She “feels like she recovering well and said that she “feels like she is 40” since the transplant. She added that prior to the operation she had not been able to walk 100m without trouble. Now she walks 3km and claims 100- 120 stairs every day.

The second patient, Jan Damen also suffered from congenital heart failure and had surgery in October 2014. He was still recovering at the hospital at the time the news was reported. “I feel amazing “, the father of three said “I’m just looking forward to getting back out of the real world”. The former carpenter said he often thinks about his donor. “I do think not be here,” he said.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Associative Prof. Kumud Dhital, who performed the transplants with hearts donated after circulatory/ cardiac death, said, “the incredible development the preservation solution with this technology of being able to preserve the heart, resuscitate it and to assess the function of the heart has made this possible”.