一般來說,活體器官在移植的過程中會(huì)嚴(yán)密冷藏起來以保持"新鮮",保質(zhì)期大約是6小時(shí)左右,這也是小說和電影里經(jīng)常描寫到要用救護(hù)車,直升機(jī)甚至私人飛機(jī)來緊急運(yùn)輸待移植器官的原因.然而,現(xiàn)在有了一種先進(jìn)的技術(shù)讓裝在盒子里的心臟在體外繼續(xù)跳動(dòng).

Daily Mail: Transplant surgeons are using a pioneering technology that keeps a donor heart pumping outside the body.

Dubbed the 'heart in a box', the device keeps the organ 'alive' from the moment it is removed until it is placed in a recipient.

Traditionally, all donor organs are placed in a cool-box and surrounded by ice to prevent them deteriorating on their journey between hospitals. Not only does this extend how long a donor heart can be kept outside the body, but it allows specialists to assess if it is suitable for transplant.

Ann Hickey is Medical Director of Heart Transplant Program.

But over the past 12 months, surgeons at Harefield Hospital, Middlesex, have carried out 25 heart transplant operations in which the patient received an organ that had been transported and prepared for transplantation using the groundbreaking Organ Care System (OCS).

It simulates the conditions of the human body, pumping oxygenated blood inside the heart so it can continue to function as it would inside a living person.

The technology increases the time the organ can be maintained outside the body to at least eight hours, compared with a maximum of three to four hours on ice. This means hearts can be retrieved from further afield.