TransMedics Announces OCS Technology used in First US Patients

TransMedics Group (NASDAQ:TMDX) has announced it has finished the first human heart transplants from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors in the US at Duke University Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

As quoted in the press release:

These transplants were made possible by the company’s OCS Heart System, which is being evaluated for use in DCD heart transplants across several U.S. heart transplant centers in an ongoing pivotal clinical trial.

A DCD donor is one in which the donation process could start only after the heart has stopped beating.  Currently, DCD donors are not considered for heart transplantation due to the potential injury that takes place once the heart stops beating and lack of any viability assessment capabilities using cold static storage.  With the TransMedics OCS™ Heart System, the donor heart is retrieved, resuscitated to normal beating state and then clinically assessed before transplantation.  The OCS™ Heart System is the only medical device that has enabled DCD heart transplantation to become a clinical reality and to date has also been utilized in the UK and Australia.

“This a critical milestone for U.S. heart transplantation that could enable a significant increase in heart transplant procedures to help many end-stage heart failure patients,” said Dr. Waleed Hassanein, President and CEO of TransMedics, Inc. “We are looking forward to the continued progress of this important clinical trial and the continued adoption of OCS as the next standard of care for heart, lung and liver transplants,” said Dr. Hassanein.

Click here to read the full press release.