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Banking of Heart Valves

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Essentials of Tissue and Cells Banking

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Abstract

Human heart valves have been used in transplant surgery for nearly sixty years and banking of valves has been performed for the majority of this time. Cardiac valves have been disinfected using chemical agents, radiation and in present times by antibiotics and stored freeze dried or in solution at +4 ℃, solid carbon dioxide and nowadays in the vapour phase of liquid nitrogen refrigerators. Heart valve banks have a list of criteria that valves must meet with relation to age of donor, atheroma, fenestrations and absence of virological markers. Cardiac valves are normally tested for microbiological contamination at least twice during their processing. The main research topics of interest in the development of heart valve banking today concern ensuring that the mechanical properties of the valves are maintained, whether it is advantageous to decellularize the valves as this lowers immune response and if vitrification could be a storage method for the future as this could alleviate the need for low temperature during transportation. Consideration also needs to be made as to whether matching of valves improves results. In the early days of heart valve banking, most hospitals processed their own valves but in the twenty-first century most banking is performed by centralized units which may be companies, national blood services or banks that are a collaborative between hospitals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Heart Valve Bank (Retired) Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Sydney Street, London, SW3 6NP, U.K.

    Robert Parker

  2. 37 Petters Road, Ashtead, KT21 1NB, U.K.

    Robert Parker

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  1. Robert Parker
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Blood Transfusion Service, St. Luke’s Hospital, Pietà, Malta

    George Galea

  2. Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Edinburgh, UK

    Marc Turner

  3. Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Edinburgh, UK

    Sharon Zahra

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Parker, R. (2021). Banking of Heart Valves. In: Galea, G., Turner, M., Zahra, S. (eds) Essentials of Tissue and Cells Banking. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71621-9_5

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