#CCRG20YEARS
This week's message is from long-serving CCRG collaborator, friend and mentor, Professor David McGiffin.
Professor McGiffin leads CCRG's Cardiothoracic Transplant Research Programme, and was Co-Principle Investigator on the Group's Living Heart Project. The Living Heart Project completed the basic science and preclinical trials for the use of hypothermic ex vivo perfusion, technology used to transport donors hearts. The preclinical trial was quickly translated to clinical trials led by Prof McGiffin and Prof David Kaye from Alfred Health, successfully transplanted 36 hearts including records for the furthest distance travelled and the longest time 'ex vivo' for a heart successfully transplanted.
https://www.ccrg.org.au/living-heart
Together with teams from every major transplant centre in Australia and New Zealand, the Critical Care Research Group has perfected the use of a novel Hypothermic Ex Vivo Perfusion (HEVP) device to help donor heart recipients.
The device allows donor hearts to rest and be rejuvenated before transplantation, essentially kept ‘alive’ with a medical “Gatorade” rich in oxygen and nutrients.
Heart transplant (HTx) is the only effective treatment for end-stage heart disease, yet organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the transplant field today. Consequently, only a small number of patients with end-stage heart disease are given the opportunity of a transplant.
2024 marks an important milestone for the #CriticalCareResearchGroup - our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades our purpose has never wavered. We are dedicated to changing patient outcomes through a better understanding of the disease process, of technology and of treatments.
To celebrate we're collating messages from our friends and collaborators from across the globe.
#CCRG20YRS
#ResearchSavesLives
Celebrating 20 years of life-saving and practice-changing medical research and innovation. With a highly-skilled team of international researchers and a collaborative approach to medical advancements, CCRG's aim is to increase understanding of the many issues that face critically ill patients and find new or improved treatment methods for hard-to-treat diseases.
This research aims to increase survival rates and improve the quality of life for patients with life-threatening conditions.