The heart in the sterile chamber. © TransMedics
Pioneering medical technology set to revolutionise the way we carry out transplants will be on display at the Science Museum for National Transplant Week, which runs from Monday 10th - Saturday 15th July 2006.
The equipment - on temporary loan to the museum from its designers, TransMedics - enabled surgeons at Papworth Hospital to carry out the UK's first beating heart transplant on 22nd May 2006.
Now, visitors to the Science Museum’s science and technology gallery, Antenna, will be able to see this life-saving medical apparatus firsthand, as well as amazing footage of a heart pumping in the apparatus' chamber.
Natasha Waterson, Antenna Exhibition Developer said: "Right now, some organs are wasted because they can't be transported and transplanted in time. A heart can only be stored for around 4-6 hours before it becomes unusable and it's hard for medical teams to match a suitable patient and operate in time.”
“This new equipment from TransMedics can keep donor hearts alive for up to twelve hours, allowing medical teams to minimise the risk of organ rejection and up the success rate of transplants, which is good news for the 8,000 UK citizens who are currently on transplant waiting lists."
The technology is currently being trialled at Papworth Hospital and works much like a portable life support system for individual organs, and is an innovative mix of exiting organ donor technology and new medical science.
The entire equipment with the heart in the sterile chamber. © TransMedics
A heart is placed within a sterile chamber and then revived. Blood is sampled and the heart tested using ultrasound. Monitors track vital signs and provide important information for surgical teams assessing the heart for transplant. Pumps maintain a pulse-like flow of blood and nutrients to the heart stop it from deteriorating and becoming too damaged for a successful transplant.
"Transplantation has always been a marriage of science and surgery and the development of the Organ Care System has real potential to increase the number of transplants and their success rate,” said Chris Rudge, Managing and Transplant Director of UK Transplant.
“The other vital element is the generosity of individuals in registering their wish to be an organ donor in the event of their death. This exhibition highlights how the three elements working together save thousands of lives - and will hopefully encourage more people to consider leaving a legacy of life."
The crucial difference between traditional transplant methods and those enabled by the new equipment, is that the organ can be revived and delivered to the patient in its normal functioning state - in this recent case, in the form of a beating heart.
David Kolstad, TransMedics' Vice President of Marketing said: "The Antenna gallery is a wonderful place to show how science, engineering and medicine can be brought together in new technology like the Organ Care System to make an important difference in the lives of the many people awaiting a life saving heart transplant."
