How long does the heart live taken out of the body?

Question

How long does the heart live taken out of the body?

Answer 1

Don't take my word for it.. I'm not 100% certain But I think I remember the Transplant team saying they have either 4 or 6 hours after removing an organ, to put it in.. This is why they keep the bodies of patients who are potential donors around until the recipient is on the operating table.. this way the organ wasn't "sitting" around.

This document is very informative and answers a lot of common questions.

www.organdonor.gov/student/docs/ OrganDonor-Background.pdf

[Just remember to remove the space after 'docs/']

Answer 2

what do you eman, "live"?

if given a chance, it will continue to beat for a few seconds, but "dies" quickly.

But if it is taken care of (iced down, etc) than it can be moved and transplanted to another patient after several minutes.

Answer 3

one hour  

Answer 4

This organ has a very short period of time before degeneration begins. If placed in the proper environment 1-2 hrs would be the median time frame.

The kidney on the other hand, if placed in the proper environment, can still be viable after more that 24hrs.

The Liver is around 12hrs.

Answer 5

One day.