Heart transplanted from deceased donor for the first time | Health

The new transplant procedure (DCD, Donation after Circulatory Death) has already been performed in a number of countries, including Australia, the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Spain.

Due to a national shortage of donor hearts, Erasmus MC, UMC Utrecht and UMC Groningen decided to also use this technique in the Netherlands. Currently there are around 120 heart patients on the waiting list for a donor heart. The mortality rate among people waiting for a new heart is high. One in seven dies because a donor heart is not available on time.

According to university hospitals, DCD heart donation can ultimately yield up to about 40 extra heart donors nationwide. That means a doubling of the number of heart transplants currently being performed.

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