Dead heart transplant Australia - A medical breakthrough has been reported down under. In Sydney, a surgeon has successfully transplanted "dead" hearts into patients. These "dead" hearts have come from donors who have been confirmed brain dead but whose hearts still function.
First off, "dead" hearts don't necessarily mean taken from corpses. These "dead" hearts have been taken from donors who have been confirmed brain dead but with an effectively functioning heart. The "dead" hearts are then kept for four hours in ice. For the procedure done with dead heart transplant Australia, the hearts were kept warm.
The dead heart transplant Australia took place at the St. Vincent Hospital in Sydney. Before the transplant, surgeons had revived the "dead" hearts of which had stopped beating for around 20 minutes. According to the first dead heart transplant Australia patient, she felt younger and like a "different person" after the transplant.
"Now I'm a different person altogether. I feel like I'm 40 years old - I'm very lucky," stated Michelle Gribilas, the first dead heart transplant Australia patient.
Two other dead heart transplant Australia patients have been recorded as successful one of which has been identified as Jan Damen, aged 40. For the head of the heart transplant unit in St. Vincent's, Professor Peter MacDonald, the "dead" heart transplant in Australia has proven to be a breakthrough in the medical field.
"This is something that we have been researching really over the last four years can sustain this period where the heart has stopped beating. Having done that we have developed a technique for then reactivating the heart," stated MacDonald.
"This breakthrough represents a major inroad to reducing the shortage of donor organs," added the cardiologist from St. Vincent's.
Surgeons from Sydney hope that the medical breakthrough with the dead heart transplant Australia pave way to more lives saved in the future.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
