World's first partial heart transplant grows valves and arteries

Marking a significant advancement in medical science, the world's first partial heart has achieved the expected outcome after over a year of research efforts. Carried out by Duke Health, the patient, a young individual, now exhibits functioning valves and arteries that are growing in tandem with the transplant, as initially expected by the medical team.

In spring 2022, doctors carried out the procedure on a baby who needed a new heart valve. Before, they used non living valves, which didn't grow with the child. This meant the child needed frequent replacements, and the surgeries had a 50 percent chance of being deadly. The new procedure avoids these problems, according to the team.

Critical innovation Babies with serious heart valve problems face a tough challenge because there aren't any implants that can grow with them. So, these babies end up needing new over and over until they're big enough for an adult sized valve. It's a problem that doesn't have a solution yet.

Duke Health doctors, leading a published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, discovered that the innovative valve collection method used in the partial heart transplant resulted in two properly functioning valves and arteries that are growing along with the child, resembling natural blood vessels.

"This publication is proof that this technology works, this idea works, and can be used to help other children," said Joseph W. Turek, first author of the study and Duke's chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, in a . Additionally, the research revealed that the partial heart transplant procedure necessitates only a quarter of the usual immunosuppressant medication required for a full heart transplant.

This aspect could be a significant advantage, potentially sparing patients from harmful side effects that could accumulate over several decades, according to the team. Saving lives The new method also allows for a special kind of heart transplant called a domino transplant. In this process, one heart can help two people.

For example, if someone has strong heart valves but needs a stronger heart muscle, they get a full heart transplant. Then, their healthy valves can be given to someone else who needs them, creating a chain reaction of helping patients, according to the team This method can "potentially double the number of hearts that are used for the benefit of children with heart disease.

Of all the hearts that are donated, roughly half meet the criteria to go on to be used for full transplant, but we believe there's an equal number of hearts that could be used for valves," said Turek. When donated that were previously unused are introduced into the supply chain, along with the inclusion of valves from domino heart transplants, a significant transformation can be achieved.

Till now, the partial heart transplant procedure has been completed 13 times across four global centers, with nine performed at Duke and some involving domino heart transplants. The team claims the next crucial phase involves taking this innovation to a clinical trial. This step is essential to increasing the number of procedures significantly, thereby altering the availability of hearts on a larger scale.

"This innovation adds a lot to the whole donation community because it's treating more kids, while also honoring the wishes of selfless donor parents who've given the ultimate gift. It allows them to offer hope to another child in the process," said Turek..