WORLD'S FIRST "NONSTOP BEATING HEART" TRANSPLANT IS A MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGH

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Surgeons at the National Taiwan University Hospital have performed a heart transplant during which the donor's heart continued beating between the organ removal and transplantation stages. Donor hearts are usually removed and preserved in cold storage, which can damage muscle tissue, reducing function and health once transplanted. The operation was possible due to a specially designed organ maintenance system that kept the donor heart pumping with oxygenated blood throughout the process. Followup appointments with the patient showed that they maintain a low level of cardiac enzyme, something that usually spikes during typical transplant conditions.