Cardiovascular Homograft Transplant Journey

Cardiovascular Homograft Transplant Journey

Preparing for Transplant
Transplant Procedure
Life After Transplant
FAQs

Preparing for Transplant

The cardiologist will have explained to you the indications for the homograft implantation. The surgeon will explain to you how to prepare for the surgery. Take this as an opportunity to ask any questions you have so that you can really understand the valvular procedure.

Transplant Procedure

Heart valve implantation is an open heart surgery.

The duration for each surgery can vary and usually lasts for a minimum of four hours. For a simple surgery without post-operation complications, a patient can be discharged in less than a week.

Life After Transplant

Heart valve implant surgery benefits patients in the following ways:

Symptoms experienced will either improve or disappear
Ability to resume normal active lifestyle
No medication for blood thinning or immunosuppressants will be required

Patients will be on regular follow-up consultations with the surgeon and cardiologist to ensure best recovery after operation.

Heart valves are important structures that prevent blood from flowing backwards into the heart when the heart pumps. Heart valves may not function properly in:

Children who have congenital heart diseases and are born with abnormal or missing valves
Patients whose hearts valves have stopped working properly due to acquired heart valve diseases or infections

Recipients do not need to take lifelong blood thinning medications after their transplant.

A donor's body is treated with the utmost respect. Homograft donation does not disfigure the body and does not interfere with the funeral, including open casket funerals.

Anyone can donate! Do not assume that you are not healthy enough or too old to donate. Like many transplantable tissues, heart valves, trachea, and vascular tissues can be donated up to 24 hours after death.

Stringent donor evaluation will be performed before the tissues are released for recipients' use.

Anyone above the age of 18 can make this life-saving decision by completing an Organ Donation Pledge Form and submitting it to the National Organ Transplant Unit (NOTU). The form can be downloaded from www.liveon.sg. Speak to your loved ones about donation. Share your wishes with your family, so that at the time of donation, they will know that they are acting according to your wishes.