A small number of children requiring a heart transplant are supported with Ventricular assist devices (VADs), a mechanical device that supports a failing heart, or with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a procedure that oxygenates the blood through an artificial lung machine. This is known as ‘bridge to transplant’ and supports the heart until a donor heart becomes available for transplantation.
The use of the VADs such as the ‘Berlin Heart’ has increased the opportunity for bridging to heart transplant for smaller, younger children, for whom it often takes longer to be offered a suitable donor heart. As this technology has developed, more children have been kept alive through the use of VADs until a suitable donated heart has been identified.
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