Effect of temperature upon heart preservation for transplantation

Abstract In this work we studied the effect of three different temperatures (7 °, 15 °, and 30 °C) on heart preservation. The best temperature for 24 hr pulsatile perfusion of canine hearts was 7 °C. Hearts perfused at this temperature showed no evidence of abnormal preservation changes nor of histological damage immediately upon transplantation. If the temperature was increased to 15 ° or 30 °C, moderate to severe preservation and histological damage were observed, and only three out of 10 dogs survived upon heart implantation.