"Heart donations traditionally come from donors with no brain function, with a heart that continues to beat, said UHN. But in the DCC process, the heart is recovered from a patient who has died, it said. Although these hearts experience a brief period without oxygen, advances in medical technology now allow them to be successfully transplanted under carefully defined criteria, the hospital said in the release."
"Many advanced heart failure patients never make it to the waitlist, and a significant number of those who do succumb to their disease while awaiting precious organs, he said, adding heart transplants are the only cure for advanced heart failure. Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicates there were 155 adults and 29 children in Canada waiting for heart transplants at the end of 2024."
Toronto General Hospital performed Canada’s first donation after circulatory criteria (DCC) heart transplant in early September. DCC donations recover a heart from a patient who dies after life support withdrawal rather than from a brain-dead donor with a beating heart. These hearts undergo a brief period without oxygen, but advances in medical technology enable successful transplantation under strict criteria. Donors are patients with no chance of neurological recovery who have not been declared brain dead; life support is stopped per patient or family wishes and the heart is removed once death is confirmed. The recipient is recovering well and DCC could increase the heart donor pool by 30 percent.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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