Subnormothermic Preservation in Somah: A Novel Approach for Enhanced Functional Resuscitation of Donor Hearts for Transplant

Organ preservation at 4°C results in temporally irreversible injury to cellular structure and function. This study was designed to evaluate the possibility of storing hearts at ambient temperatures in novel organ preservation solution Somah to prevent damage and preserve optimum function by maintaining cellular energy over the temperature range of storage. Porcine hearts were stored in Celsior at 4°C and Somah at 4°C, 13°C and 21°C for 5 h thereafter reperfused and reanimated in vitro for 3 h. Heart weights, histopathology, ultrastructure and 2‐dimensional echocardiography (2D‐Echo) assessments showed preservation of structure in Somah groups. Tissue high‐energy phosphate levels in Somah groups after storage were significantly greater than the Celsior hearts (p