Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Transplanted organ transportation breakthrough

No longer on ice, but beating. [Link]

It's like something out of science fiction or a horror movie or both: in order to facilitatetransplants, we can now keep human hearts alive and beating and toasty warm inside a special electromechanical box full of fresh blood.
Up until this point, live organs have been transported from donors to patients in coolers, buried in ice to keep them "fresh." This only works for about six hours, which is why private jets, helicopters, and ambulances are used to speed these irreplaceable and lifesaving items around the country as quickly as possible.

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