Video shows baby’s old heart still BEATING after it was removed during a transplant
- WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Henry Dolan, five months, was born with two congenital heart defects
- He was placed on the organ register and found a match in just 16 days
- Parents Mollie and Sam from Minnesota live-blogged his transplant
- Video shot by doctors show his old heart taking its final beats in a dish
Kate Pickles For Mailonline
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Henry Dolan, pictured with mother Mollie, underwent the heart transplant this weekend after being born with two heart defects
This is the astonishing moment a baby’s heart keeps beating in a hospital bowl after it was removed during a life-saving transplant.
Henry Dolan underwent a heart transplant this weekend after being born with two serious heart conditions five months ago.
His parents Mollie and Sam Dolan, from Minnesota, have shared the incredible live updates on their Hope for Henry Facebook page.
Incredibly, they even included footage of his old heart still beating after it has been removed from his chest and placed in a white dish.
This is because nerve cells in the heart are not controlled by the brain and so can continue to fire after it has been disconnected.
After getting the news a heart had been found for Henry, his parents wrote: ‘Not even sure how to type this out, BUT… after 16 days listed and 5 months hospitalised WE GOT A HEART!
‘Oh my goodness! I have no words. Please be praying for us and the donor family as we know they are going through unimaginable grief.
‘How amazing that they have chosen to give a life! Wow!
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‘You better believe I will let you all be a part of the journey. Stay tuned my dear prayer warriors. We love you!’
Born 12 weeks early, Henry weighed just 2lbs 11 oz and measured just 15 inches long.
Not only premature, he was also diagnosed with the congenital heart defect truncus arteriosus – where a single blood vessel comes out of the right and left ventricles, instead of the normal two vessels.
He was also diagnosed with mitral artesia, a rare defect where the mitral valve, which connects the two chambers on the left side of the heart, is blocked, stopping blood flow between them.
Henry, 5 months, was found a new heart this weekend after just 16 days on the organ register
It meant he was placed on the transplant list and his parents faced a nervous wait before he was found a donor heart.
HOW DOES THE HEART BEAT AFTER TRANSPLANT
The heart is different to n most muscles in the body in that he beating of the heart itself is not regulated by the brain, but within the heart itself.
The brain simply tells the heart how fast it needs to beat.
Nerve cells within the heart continue firing for an extended period of time, promoting the process of beating.
As a result, when the heart is removed from the body, it doesn’t stop beating instantly.
As long as it has enough ATP to provide energy and exposure to oxygen, it can beat without any regulation from a brain.
This is why human hearts can continue to beat for a while after removal from the body for a short period.
Source: Science Behind Blogspot
Doctors inside the operating theatre sent photographs and video, allowing his parents to live blog his transplant
These include graphic clips of Henry undergoing the lifesaving surgery – as well as his old heart after it has been removed, still beating in the hospital dish.
The latest post on Hope for Henry, reads: ‘I’m in awe of what has happened today. It almost feels like a dream.
‘What I’ve witnessed today, is nothing short of a miracle. A miracle given to us, by a family who is enduring tremendous heartache and pain.
‘What incredible strength they must possess. Please continue to lift this family up in prayer.’
Family and friends set up a fundraising page to help to pay for medical costs.
They write: ‘The medical bills are only beginning for them, as well as being gone from work to stay by Henry’s side.
‘We have created this account to help relieve just a little bit of the stress for them.’
For information on Henry’s page, click here.
Friends and family set up this Go Fund Me Page for the Dolan family to help pay medical bills
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