A significant advancement in Canadian healthcare took place when a renowned surgeon accomplished the country's first donation-after-death heart transplant at the University Health Network's (UHN) Peter Munk Cardiac Centre in Toronto. Dr. Seyed Alireza Rabi, who led the pioneering medical team, emphasized the transformative nature of this procedure. "This is absolutely a transformation, we are in an era that’s going to change the way heart transplants are done," he stated.
A New Era in Heart Transplants
Traditionally, heart transplants are conducted following the confirmation of brain death, where the heart continues to beat. The newly developed procedure alters this approach, as it allows for the heart to be recovered after a family consents to take their loved one off life support, thus confirming death. Following this confirmation, the transplant team can retrieve the heart for transplantation.
Despite these changes in initial procedures, Dr. Rabi assures that the risks associated with this new technique are similar to those of traditional heart transplants. The duration of the surgery remains consistent, taking approximately 7 to 8 hours to complete.
A Global First, Now in Canada
This groundbreaking procedure had its first successful implementation in Australia in 2014, followed by similar operations in the U.K. in 2015 and the U.S. in 2019. Dr. Rabi, who previously participated in the 2019 surgery in the United States, has now brought his extensive expertise back to Canadians.
Dr. Thomas Forbes, UHN’s Surgeon-in-Chief, expressed immense pride in having Dr. Rabi return to Canada, noting his illustrious reputation in the field of cardiac surgery. “Dr. Alireza Rabi is an international rockstar when it comes to cardiac surgery; when it comes to heart transplantation, we are just thrilled to have him back in Canada and back at UHN,” stated Dr. Forbes. Dr. Rabi's return was driven by a commitment to enhance healthcare options for Canadians needing heart transplants.
Statistics indicate that nearly 200 Canadians are currently waiting for heart transplants, and the UHN anticipates this innovative procedure could potentially accelerate the heart donor list by 30 percent, thereby saving numerous lives. "Every time that this has been done, a heart transplant has been done using this technique, there is a reduction of the number of people who have died on the wait list, shorter wait list times, and also improved outlook globally," Dr. Rabi elaborated.
The recipient of Canada's first donation-after-death heart transplant is reportedly recovering well post-surgery. Dr. Rabi remains optimistic about performing more procedures of this nature in the future, marking a hopeful era for cardiac healthcare in Canada.
