Heart transplantation from an extended criteria donation after circulatory death donor

Transplantation of donation after circulatory death (DCD) donor hearts is gaining acceptance. However, DCD heart selection has been understandably cautious. We report a case of reconditioning a DCD heart using thoraco-abdominal normothermic regional perfusion in a 46-year-old donor who suffered irreversible brain injury following emergency type-A aortic dissection repair. The DCD heart was procured with cold preservation and directly transplanted into a 63-year-old male who was bridged to transplant with extracorporeal life support. The recipient required a brief period of mechanical circulatory support post-transplant but made a good recovery. To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful heart transplantation from such an extended criteria DCD donor.