Porcine Heart Excision: A Protocol to Extract Porcine Heart for Cardiac Transplant

For porcine heart extraction, place an anesthetized pig on a surgery platform in a supine position. Shave the chest region and sterilize it. Using a cautery pen, make a midline incision on the chest and open the chest wall to reveal the sternum.

Now, incise the sternum along its midline. Retract the sternum to reveal the pericardium – a fibrous sac enclosing the heart. Next, cut the pericardium and retract it to visualize the heart. Now, deliver heparin to avoid blood clotting. Then, place an IV catheter into the ascending aorta. Begin collecting blood through the catheter in an external reservoir bag. This drains the blood from the organ, a process called exsanguination.

Now, clamp the ascending aorta and superior vena cava to restrict the blood flow. Then, deliver an isotonic electrolyte solution into the aortic root. This solution gradually slows the cardiac activity, bringing the organ to rest and protecting it during storage. 

To separate the heart from the adjoining blood vessels, transect the aorta and the pulmonary artery. Further, dissect the superior and inferior venae cavae and incise the pulmonary veins. Finally, excise the heart from the pig and preserve it under physiological conditions.