A Simple Temperature Change Could Meaningfully Improve…

A Simple Temperature Change Could Meaningfully Improve Heart Transplant Success Rates Preserving a donor heart correctly between the moment it's removed and the moment it's transplanted is critical to transplant success. Static cold storage, either at 4-8°C or at a slightly warmer 10°C, has shown promising results compared to older ice storage methods. But until now, no study had directly compared these two specific preservation temperatures against each other. A new dual centre study from Vanderbilt and Duke, published in Circulation: Heart Failure, provides exactly that comparison. The study: Researchers retrospectively analysed 365 adult heart transplant recipients across two high volume transplant centres between January 2020 and April 2025, all single organ transplants from brain dead donors. 113 patients received hearts preserved at 10°C, while 252 received hearts preserved at the more traditional 4-8°C range. An important starting imbalance the researchers had to address: The 10°C group actually started with notably higher risk profiles, older donors, greater donor recipient sex mismatch, more frequent donor heart undersizing, older recipients, more patients with prior sternotom