I have had my aortic valve replaced (by a bovine valve), and have also had quadruple bypass surgery. Does this disqualify me from being a cardiac organ donor?
Most definitely yes. Apart from the undesirability of transplanting a (with all due respect) diseased and anatomically altered heart, there are simply the technical aspects that make it unfeasible. When one has heart surgery, the heart becomes adhered to the structures around it and it generally becomes very difficult to remove, or even reoperate on. But that should not in any way preclude you from donating other organs or tissues.
The disclaimer here is that I do not work for an organ procurement agency, but as a medical examiner I have frequent contact with them.
Nurse Ron here, thank you but no thank you !
“Adhered to structures around it”, can anyone elaborate on this?
What does it mean? Why would the heart suddenly adhere to other structures? How does this occur? And, more importantly, wouldn’t that interfere with normal heart function?
(I’m not questioning the accuracy of this comment, please understand, just having a hard time understanding, how and why such a thing would occur!)
Adhesions are akin to scar tissue, just internally.
The heart sits in a cavity called the pericardial sac. The inner lining of the sac is normally smooth and slides against the outer surface of the heart, aided by a little fluid. The outer surface of the sac is anchored to other structures in the chest. When the sac is opened and the heart is manipulated, as happens during surgery, the linings of the sac and the heart get irritated and, essentially, scar tissue forms and fuses the outer surface of the heart to the inner lining of the sac. The two can usually be separated again, but it is a generally difficult, manual, time consuming process.
As for how that scar tissue (aka, “adhesions”) affects the heart’sfunction, others may be able to get into the nitty gritty, but presumably any retardation of function must be less than the potential effect of the disease for which the surgery was done. Or at least one hopes so.
So they won’t want your heart as it’s already compromised. But, you still have corneas, kidneys, a liver, and so on, all of which will be greatly appreciated by donation recipients.
Does this include Bypass surgery?
It is unclear to me what your question is. If by “this” you mean preclusion of heart donation and by “bypass surgery” you mean coronary artery bypass surgery (or grafting), then the answer is, as it was for the OP, yes.
Thanks for this. I was under the impression that, since the surgery was successful, my heart is now “good as new.”
As to donating organs - a lot may depend on the drugs you are taking as well. Now your heart is not as good as new but your liver may not be either.
Anyone know about the effects of medications on organs for transplant?
The levels of drugs taken here will likely not equate, but my mother underwent a bilateral lung transplant and was told that she can’t further donate any of her organs due to the toxicity of the drugs she is taking to prevent infection and rejection.
This, exactly. My father died due to complications from heart surgery (apparently you have to sew that sucker up really well! Who knew? Kinda wish his surgeon had.) and we were able to donate several organs, skin grafts, etc. There was a fairly extensive discussion with the organ donation people about his habits and health history, which was not super pleasant in the hours after his sudden death. People, make sure you talk to your loved ones about your organ donation wishes!
I hope my comments will not prompt you to become disheartened about your heart. Since the surgery was successful, your heart may very well function as if it were, essentially, as good as new. And it may very well keep doing so until your ticket is punched by some totally nonheart-related event. My comments were only addressing the specific question about heart donation.
Yes my husband had a heart transplant and his organs are no longer useful for transplant. But for many years before the new heart he was on many medications for heart disease. Most likely the poster is also taking drugs for his condition that may cause his organs to be rejected for transplant.
Yes please tell your family if you want your organs donated. My husband is alive 6 years after some wonderful person did just that.