New research suggests the hearts of drug and alcohol users are safe for transplants. — via healthing_ca
A pair of studies has found that illicit drug use by heart donors prior to death does not affect the success rate of transplants and should not prevent the procedure from taking place.
The opioid epidemic currently plaguing the U.S. and Canada may have increased the prevalence of potential heart donors but many of these vital organs have not been used over fears that illicit drug use — often the cause of death — will decrease the viability of a transplant. In 2019, the U.S. performed 3,552 heart transplants, the most recorded in a single year. Canada, for comparison, performed 189 heart transplants in 2017,.
“This research confirms previous data that these hearts — once considered high risk — are safe,” said Howard Eisen, the chair of the American Heart Association’s Heart Failure and Transplantation Committee of the Clinical Cardiology Council. “These findings should encourage institutions who are not routinely using hearts from drug users to do so. It will reduce the waiting time and the number of deaths among people on the heart transplant waitlist.
“We thought that illicit drugs like cocaine or methamphetamine, which can lead to heart attacks, would prove to be dangerous,” said David A. Baran, lead study author of the study and system director for advanced heart failure and transplantation at Sentara Heart Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia. “However, we were wrong. We should not reject a heart from a donor just because they used one or more illicit drugs.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Family of Jordan Boyd raises more than $1 million for heart disease research | Globalnews.caJordan Boyd was just 16 years old and a promising athlete when he died suddenly from a rare heart disease after collapsing on the ice in August 2013.
Read more »
Bob Odenkirk says he had a small heart attack, will be back'Better Call Saul' star Bob Odenkirk said Friday that he 'had a small heart attack' but will 'be back soon.'
Read more »
Yale opioid study highlights the ethical tightrope researchers walk to study addiction using deceptionA Yale study that found that Canadian clinics were faster than the U.S. to provide opioid treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ethical tightrope researchers must walk when studying addiction while using deception in their research gathering.
Read more »
As cases surge, Thai hospital uses containers to store bodiesA Thai hospital morgue overwhelmed by COVID-19 deaths has begun storing bodies in refrigerated containers, resorting to a measure it last took in a devastating 2004 tsunami, as the country grapples with its biggest coronavirus outbreak.
Read more »
Digital scanners for your business can open up more space in your office and homeRather than using a big, bulky scanner, you can let your iPhone do your scanning for you
Read more »