Hypothermic oxygenated perfusion of the donor heart in heart transplantation: the short-term outcome from a randomised, controlled, open-label, multicentre clinical trial

Static cold storage (SCS) remains the gold standard for preserving donor hearts before transplantation but is associated with ischaemia, anaerobic metabolism, and organ injuries, leading to patient morbidity and mortality. We aimed to evaluate whether continuous, hypothermic oxygenated machine perfusion (HOPE) of the donor heart is safe and superior compared with SCS.