‘Heart in a Box’ a Big Step Forward for Organ Transplants

Developed by Transmedics, the OCS Heart, often referred to as the “heart in a box,” is a machine that keeps a heart supplied with blood and oxygen for several hours. This allows it to be moved to another patient for transplant. Heart transplants aren’t exactly a new thing—the first one was performed in 1967—but the organ is usually kept on ice while being moved. So why bother keeping a heart beating at all? What does this device do that ice can’t? As it turns out, quite a bit.