According to the Inselspital in Bern, bad weather prevented the heart reaching the transplant hospital by plane. It was therefore transported by car between the two hospitals.
The patient with the new heart is doing very well. “The ability to keep a heart beating outside the body for a longer period of time without damage is an absolute game changer for Swiss transplant medicine,” said David Reineke, Head of Cardiac Surgery at Inselspital.
New technology saves lives
With the introduction of ex vivo perfusion, the waiting time for a suitable organ has been cut by a third and the number of patients receiving an organ has doubled in a very short space of time, Reineke continued.
In ex vivo perfusion, organs outside the body are perfused with a solution containing nutrients, oxygen and medication necessary to maintain the organ in optimal condition.
Previously, donor organs were disconnected from the bloodstream and rinsed cold during removal. They were then kept cool in transport boxes filled with ice. According to the Inselspital, this kept a heart alive for a maximum of four hours.
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Elderly Swiss-Tunisian man held in prison in Tunisia
This content was published on
An 81-year-old Swiss-Tunisian dual national is being held in a Tunisian prison. The former manager of the UN refugee agency UNHCR was arrested a year ago, according to Amnesty International.
Major traffic jams expected in Switzerland for Whitsun weekend
This content was published on
Long traffic jams can be expected near the Gotthard Tunnel, the main north-south transalpine route in Switzerland, on Friday and Saturday afternoons due to the Whitsun holiday.
Swiss defence minister launches probe into alleged spy links with Russia
This content was published on
Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister has launched an investigation into the alleged disclosure of sensitive information by the cyber division of the Federal Intelligence Service to Russia.
PFAS-contaminated meat still sold in eastern Switzerland
This content was published on
Meat containing excessive levels of toxic PFAS "forever chemicals" produced by farms in canton St Gallen is still being sold.
Violations in Gaza by ‘both sides’ must be condemned, says Swiss minister
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has admitted that Israel is failing in its obligations by hindering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
This content was published on
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Switzerland are extremely pessimistic about ongoing geopolitical tensions and US President Donald Trump's tariff policy, according to a survey.
Swiss minister highlights Blatten ‘miracle’ at disaster reduction meeting
This content was published on
The fact that only one person is missing after the huge glacier collapse that engulfed the Swiss mountain village of Blatten last week is "almost a miracle", according to Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
This content was published on
The cantonal parliament of Vaud has approved a loan of CHF9.5 million ($11.5 million) for Château de Chillon, the most-visited monument in Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.