Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg • Bad Krozingen

Ex-vivo heart perfusion is an established method to preserve donor hearts during long transportation times. The technique allows to accept longer transportation times and some unfavorable donor/recipient combination. However, there is still a relevant rate of primary graft dysfunction and edema formation in very long perfusion runs.

Our project aims to improve ex-vivo perfusion of donor hearts with the goal of improved allograft function. The pathology of ischemia/reperfusion injury during cardiac transplantation should be improved by optimized and controlled perfusion of the donor heart. Furthermore, therapeutic application of substances aiming cellular protection is a major part of this basic research project.

The experimental setup is designed to be as comparable to clinical reality as possible to allow easy translation of hypothesized results into the clinical reality. The project is founded by the 2018 Norman E. Shumway Career Development Award of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

The publications of Dr. Schibilsky can be found here.

Co-workers

• Priv.-Doz. Dr. Jakob Wollborn (Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA)
• Laurin Micek
• Dr. Domagoj Damjanovic
• Dr. Fatos Ballazhi