(P184) THE HEART OF INNOVATION: EVALUATING THE TRAFEROX COOLER'S IMPACT ON ISCHEMIC TIMES AND SHORT-TERM HEART TRANSPLANT OUTCOMES

Background: Recent advancements in static controlled hypothermia technology have markedly enhanced donor heart preservation practices, particularly improving donor heart utilization and increasing ischemic times without compromising short-term outcomes. The Traferox X-Port Transport cooler (Traferox Technologies Inc., Toronto, ON) is a novel device that maintains donor hearts at a temperature range between 8 to 10⁰C. We sought to describe our experience with the Traferox cooler in comparison to standard static cold storage (SCS).

METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a single centre retrospective review of 20 consecutive heart transplants (HT) from 2023-2024 stratified by Traferox cooler (n=9) vs. SCS (n=11). The primary aim was to assess cumulative ischemic time and short-term recipient outcomes including severe primary graft dysfunction (PGD), length of stay (LOS), and dialysis requirement post-operatively. We summarized clinical characteristics using descriptive statistics. Between-group differences were compared using the Fisher’s exact test, t-test and Mann-Whitney U tests, with a p-value < 0.05 as statistically significant. Among 20 recipients included, there were no differences in donor age (32 vs. 33 years, p=0.47), recipient age (51 vs. 59 years, p=0.4), or number of recipients supported with a durable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) between Traferox vs. SCS groups (3 vs. 3, p=1.0) (Table 1). However, Traferox enabled significantly longer cumulative ischemic times (259 mins vs. 153 mins, p=0.001). There were no cases of severe PGD or mortality with either storage method. Additionally, there were no differences in LOS, 30-day readmission rates and transient dialysis requirement post-operatively. Within the Traferox group, the mean probe temperature was 8.58⁰C (SD 1.05⁰C), minimum probe temperature 6.74⁰C (SD 2.06⁰C), and maximum probe temperature 13.09⁰C (SD 3.31⁰C).

Conclusion: The Traferox cooler facilitated longer ischemic times and greater distances traveled for organ procurement, without compromising short-term outcomes, demonstrating a potential advantage over SCS.