MED-KIT: Making use of Ex-situ Donated hearts for Knowledge and Innovation of Therapeutics
We are currently supporting this series of workshops being held in Cambridge, Bristol & Glasgow:
A series of workshops organised by researchers from Cambridge Cardiovascular. We will bring together heart transplant recipients, family members of donors, transplant professionals and patients on the waiting list with academics working on heart health to share a range of views on using recipients’ explanted organs in research.
Heart failure affects over 37 million patients worldwide, carries a 5-year mortality of 50% and costs £2bn annually in the UK. Current medical therapies aim to manage the cause and relieve symptoms; however, they do not reverse the underlying pathophysiological processes. We need to develop therapeutics that are effective in reversing these processes. Ex-Situ Heart Perfusion (ESHP) offers a powerful tool by which novel therapeutics can be tested on human hearts from transplant recipients or from donor hearts that cannot be used for transplant. We believe that cardiovascular research using this approach can bring widespread benefits to future patients. Gathering views from a range of stakeholders is vital to support mutual understanding and decisions on the ethics of research using human tissues.
Three workshop videos available on YouTube.
Videos from our Researchers are available on YouTube
Including Dr Sanjay Sinha introduces us to the development of 'cardiac patches'. The project aims to grow human heart muscle tissue in the lab to replace injured tissue after a heart attack, and is one of the flagship projects of the BHF Centre of Regenerative Medicine. The work is an interdisciplinary collaboration with Prof Ruth Cameron and Prof Serena Best in Materials Science, Prof Richard Farndale in Biochemistry, and Dr Thomas Krieg in Experimental Medicine.
Big Biology Day
The Cambridge Big Biology Day takes place every October at Hills Road Sixth Form College, and is open to people of all ages with an interest in Biology and Science. We attend to meet and hopefully inspire the next generation of researchers. Please contact Jane Sugars if you would like to volunteer.
A big thank you to Deeti Shetty from the Sinha Lab and Jack Palmer currently on rotation at the Wellcome Sanger Institute for their help in 2024.
Cambridge Festival
Please see our dedicated Cambridge Festival page.
