Arulvel Rajeswaran
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Alvaro Rojas Pena
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Surgery-Transplantation / Medicine
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 2 – 11am – 11:50am
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Arulvel Rajeswaran, Matthew Johnson, Alvaro Rojas Pena
Presenter: 14
Abstract
Currently, organs for transplant surgeries are only viable for 4-6 hours of static cold storage (SCS), which limits the distance organs can be transported for transplants and ultimately, leads to the waste of many donor organs. In past research, it was found that using a live paracorporeal animal (PCA) with the Ex-Vivo Heart perfusion (EVHP) circuit designed by the lab led to the procured heart being viable for a benchmark of 72 hours. The aim of this study is to maintain the viability of porcine hearts on the EVHP circuit for 72 hours without the PCA because the use of PCA limits the application of these findings in the clinical setting. Using an EVHP system developed in the lab to perfuse donor porcine hearts weighing 60-80g with oxygenated blood, changing different aspects of the perfusate, plasma exchange rates, nutrient supplements, etc. to keep the heart viable for as long as possible, eliminating the need for the PCA. We constantly monitored the EKG, collected data every 30 minutes, and arterial & pulmonary blood gas values every 60 minutes and analyzed this data to determine whether, and to what extent, the experimental condition influences the viability of the heart. Though this is an ongoing project, from the data collected thus far, it was noted that in the prep where plasma, nutrition, serum, and NO gas were implemented, the heart was viable on the EVHP circuit for 34 hours, the highest perfusion time compared to all other trials. In future trials, we expect to see an increase in perfusion time of donor hearts to ultimately lengthen the time that donor hearts can be kept viable at normothermic conditions outside of the body, hopefully reaching the benchmark of 72 hours without the need for the PCA.
Interdisciplinary, Natural/Life Sciences
