A beating heart cadaver is a human body that though dead in all medical and legal definitions is attached to a medical ventilator and retains cardio-pulmonary functions. This will keep the organs of the dead body, including the heart, functioning and alive for a few days.[1] As a result, the period of time in which the organs may be used for transplantation is extended.
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Caring for a beating heart cadaver is similar to caring for a living patient. Since the brain has stopped functon, the hormone levels and blood pressure must be regulated by intensive care unit (ICU) personnel.[2] The protocol for preserving the cadaver aims to prevent infection and maintain adequate oxygenation of tissue.[3] The cadaver's status must be continuously monitored, so that ICU staff can prevent organ failure or quickly operate to save threatened organs.[2]
A beating heart cadaver is kept "alive" in order to keep its organs from decaying before they can be transplanted. Surgeons will remove the organs, one after the other, and have them transferred to the recipients' treating teams.[1] The entire recovery process is usually completed within four hours.[3] This process was formerly known as an "organ harvest", but the name has since changed to the milder "organ recovery."[1] Many organs can be extracted, and many lives can be saved by one body. The bodies are generally those of organ donors, who have agreed beforehand to donate their organs.[4] Some donated organs are taken from non-heart-beating donors.[5] Organs from brain deaths, however, have a better success rate, and currently most organ donation is from these deaths.[6]
Being faced with a beating heart cadaver is often a disturbing and confusing experience. Because the heart is beating and the body is warm, people may have difficulty believing the person is dead. Families often like to see the body once it has been removed from the machines and "put to rest".[3]
Award winning Canadian writer Colleen Murphy's play Beating Heart Cadaver will have its premiere in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2011 at the Finborough Theatre, London.