UPMC Performs First Beating Heart Transplant

May 17, 2007

The following is a transcript of a report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks that first aired May 17, 2007, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has performed the nation's first beating heart transplant.

The patient, Richard Jackson, 47, is now home in Portage and doing well after receiving a new heart from a 46-year-old man.

But it's not just the magic of a new heart that is exciting as much as how the organ was preserved.

An investigational device called the "organ care system" is being called a breakthrough in heart transplantation by surgeons at the University of Pittsburgh. They used the device for the first time on April 8 to save Jackson's life.

Jackson suffered from congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. His heart was damaged by a heart attack and blood clot in 2005.

The donor heart was not packed in a cold solution and ice, which increases the risk of damage and rejection.

Jackson's new heart was kept beating for three hours in its own nutrient-rich blood inside the organ care system.

Dr. Kenneth McCurry and his team performed the transplant.

Jackson left the hospital on April 30, three weeks after his transplant.

"Hopefully it allows me to recover faster," said Jackson. "Hopefully it allows people in the future to recover faster. As far as expectations, just one day at a time."

The study is an exciting advance in the world of transplantation, but its potential magic can only be used if people are willing to donate their organs. Currently there are 96,440 people waiting for organs in the United States. As of January, only 2,474 organs were donated.

Copyright © 2007 by ThePittsburghChannel.

This article posted June 18, 2007.