Heart patients receive transplant thanks to new Organ Care System

Two critically ill heart patients have become the first to receive transplants in Scotland with the Organ Care System (OCS) called ‘Heart in a Box’.

Roger Marr and Julie-Ann Morris received the transplants at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.

The OCS extends the amount of time a donated organ can remain outside the body in a condition suitable for transplantation, keeping human organs warm and functioning outside of the body, while giving surgeons the opportunity to assess an organ’s function.

It contains technologies which simulate the conditions of the human body and allows organs to function as they normally do.

Golden Jubilee transplant surgeon Phil Curry said: “It is a fantastic achievement to have completed two heart transplants this year using the Organ Care System – for the first time in Scotland - with good results for the patients involved.

“Roger and Julie-Ann are both young and were critically ill, but they are now making good progress and I have little doubt that using the OCS helped keep the donors’ hearts in premium condition before transplantation.

“The OCS means that organs can be retrieved from farther away and that we can therefore consider organs which may have been previously rejected.

“Using new technologies that can benefit patients and improve outcomes for them is a major part of what we do and how we work at the Golden Jubilee Foundation, to lead on quality, research and innovation.”