The protocol describes a large-animal (porcine) model of donation after circulatory death, followed by thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion that closely simulates the clinical scenario in heart transplantation, and has the potential to facilitate therapeutic studies and strategies.
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Method Article
Large-Animal Model of Donation after Circulatory Death and Normothermic Regional Perfusion for Cardiac Assessment
* These authors contributed equally
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
The increase in demand for cardiac transplantation throughout the years has fueled interest in donation after circulatory death (DCD) to expand the organ donor pool. However, the DCD process is associated with the risk of cardiac tissue injury due to the inevitable period of warm ischemia. Normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) allows for an in situ organ assessment, allowing the procurement of hearts determined to be viable. Here, we describe a clinically relevant large-animal model of DCD followed by NRP. Circulatory death is established in anesthetized pigs by stopping mechanical ventilation. After a preset warm ischemia period, an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) is used for a NRP period lasting at least 30 min. During this reperfusion period, the model allows the collection of various myocardial biopsies and blood samples for initial cardiac evaluation. Once NRP is weaned, biochemical, hemodynamic, and echocardiographic assessments of cardiac function and metabolism can be performed before organ procurement. This protocol closely simulates the clinical scenario previously described for DCD and NRP in heart transplantation and has the potential to facilitate studies aimed at decreasing ischemia-reperfusion injury and enhance cardiac functional preservation and recovery.
Introduction
Over 300,000 individuals die in North America each year of heart failure (HF); cardiac transplantation remains the only treatment option for some of these patients with end stage disease1. Historically, the exclusive source for heart transplantation was donor hearts obtained after neurological determination of death (NDD), but even then, only around 40% were adequate for transplantation2. Between 15% to 20% of patients die while waiting for a heart donation, with shortage of donor hearts being one of the reasons that creates a discrepancy between the hearts available and the hearts needed2. In ord....
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Protocol
The institutional animal care and use committee of the Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM) approved all experimental protocols, and animals were treated in compliance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. For this protocol, 3-4-month-old Large White male or female pigs weighing 50-60 kg was used. Animal size can vary according to the investigators' experimental goals.
1. Animal preparation and anesthetic induction
- Premedicate the animal using an intramuscular injection of atropine (0.04 mg/kg), midazolam (0.3 mg/kg), and ketamine (20 mg/kg). Adminis....
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Results
This preclinical model has been successfully used in our institution for multiple experiments. First, we demonstrated that DCD hearts, initially reperfused with NRP, demonstrated similar functional recovery following transplantation when compared to conventional beating heart donation preserved with cold storage. Further, we have used this protocol to show that cardiac functional assessment following NRP was predictive of post-transplantation recovery. Finally, we have also studied the effects of NRP on cerebral perfusio.......
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Discussion
This manuscript describes a large-animal model donation after circulatory death (DCD) followed by thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion. In this experiment, the heart is reperfused for a minimum of 30 min and a maximum of 3 h before it is weaned off from the ECMO circuit. The heart is then functioning on its own for 2 h which allows for valuable cardiac assessment on the short term. Therefore, the major limitation of this protocol is the short-term follow-up; however, a long-term assessment would be resource-i.......
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Disclosures
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Melanie Borie, Caroline Landry, Henry Aceros and Ahmed Menaouar for their precious help and support.
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Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amiodarone | As available in the institution | ||
| Angiocath 20G | BD | 381704 | |
| Atropine 0.4 mg/mL | As available in the institution | ||
| Biomedicus Centrifugal Pump | Medtronic | ||
| Cardioplegia Solution (Del Nido) | in-house made | Another solution can be used at the discretion of the researcher | |
| Cautery Pencil | Covidien | E2515H | |
| Central Venous Catheter double-lumen | Cook Medical | C-UDLM-501J-LSC | |
| Central Venous Sheath Introducer 7 Fr | |||
| Conductance Catheter | |||
| CPB pack | Medtronic | ||
| DLP Aortic Root Cannula | Medtronic | 12218 | |
| DLP double-stage venous cannula (29 or 37 F) | Medtronic | ||
| Dobutamine | As available in the institution | ||
| Dopamine | As available in the institution | ||
| Electrode Polyhesive | Covidien | E7507 | |
| EOPA Arterial Cannula (17 or 21 F) | |||
| Epinephrine | As available in the institution | ||
| O2 Face Mask | As available in the institution | ||
| Gloves, Nitrile, Medium | Fischer | 27-058-52 | |
| Heparin 1000 IU/mL | As available in the institution | ||
| Inhaled Isofurane | Provided by the institution's animal facility | ||
| Jelco 16 or 18 G catheter | |||
| Ketamine inj. 50 mL vial (100 mg/mL) | Health Canada | Health Canada approval is required | |
| Lidocaine/Xylocaine 1% | As available in the institution | ||
| Magnesium Sulfate 5 g/10 mL | As available in the institution | ||
| Midazolam inj. 10 mL vial (5 mg/mL) | Health Canada | Health Canada approval is required | |
| MPS Quest delivery disposable pack | Quest Medical | 5001102-AS | |
| Norepinephrine | As available in the institution | ||
| Normal Saline (NaCl 0.9%) 1L bag | Baxter | JB1324 | |
| Pipette Tips 1 mL | Fisherbrand | 02-707-405 | |
| Propofol 1 mg/mL | As available in the institution | ||
| Rocuronium | As available in the institution | ||
| Set Admin Prim NF PB W/ Checkvalve | Smith Medical | 21-0442-25 | |
| Sodium Bicarbonate (NaOH) 8.4% | As available in the institution | ||
| Sofsil 0 wax coated | Covidien | S316 | |
| Solumedrol 500 mg/5 mL | As available in the institution | ||
| Suction Tip | Covidien | 8888501023 | |
| Suction Tubing 1/4'' x 120'' | Med-Rx | 70-8120 | |
| Suture 3.0 Prolene Blu M SH | Ethicon | 8523H | |
| Suture 5.0 Prolene BB | Ethicon | 8580H | |
| Suture Prolene Blum 4-0 SH 36 | Ethicon | 8521H | |
| Suture BB 4.0 Prolene | Ethicon | 8881H | |
| Tracheal Tube, 6.5 mm | Mallinckrodt | 86449 | |
| Vasopressin | As available in the institution |
References
- Yusen, R. D., et al. The Registry of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation: thirty-third adult heart transplantation report-2016; focus theme: primary diagnostic indications for transplant. The Journal of Heart and Lung Tr....
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