Work

Preliminary experience with controlled hypothermic storage of donor heart in combined heart transplantation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: While studies have demonstrated improved clinical outcomes with the use of controlled hypothermic storage (CHS) devices in isolated heart transplantation, it has not been evaluated in combined heart transplantation. In this small retrospective study (n=17), we evaluate clinical outcomes after combined heart-liver and heart-kidney transplantation in recipients of donor hearts preserved with conventional ice cold storage (ICS, n=10) versus CHS (n=7). The study found severe early graft dysfunction (EGD) occurred more frequently in the ICS cohort when compared to the CHS cohort (70% vs 0%, respectively). In addition, the CHS cohort had shorter median intensive care unit length of stay (7 days compared to 15.5 days, respectively) as well as fewer post-transplant complications, including sepsis (60% in ICS and 28.6% in CHS), pneumonia (40% in ICS and 14.3% in CHS), stroke (30% in ICS and 0% in CHS), and acute kidney injury requiring dialysis (60% in ICS and 28.6% in CHS). These preliminary findings suggest CHS may improve outcomes in combined heart transplantation.

Source: JHLT Open

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhlto.2026.100707