The world’s first partial heart transplantation led to positive results

The world’s first partial heart transplant, which was performed almost two years ago, has led to positive results. The patient now has functioning valves and arteries that grow in parallel with the transplant, writes Interesting Engineering.

The operation was performed by Duke Health specialists. In the spring of 2022, they performed the procedure on a child who needed a new heart valve.

Until now, doctors have used non-living tissue in similar situations, but it did not grow with the little patients. This meant that children needed frequent heart valve replacements and risky surgeries. But the new procedure avoids this.

Duke Health doctors published a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Their innovative method allows them to perform an operation after which the transplants will continue to grow with the child.

Another positive result is that the partial heart transplant procedure requires only a quarter of the usual immunosuppressants needed for a full heart transplant. This can be a significant advantage, potentially saving patients from harmful side effects.

In addition, the new method allows for a special type of heart transplantation based on the “domino” principle. In this process, one heart can help two people.