Non heart beating organ donor: new experimental model in pigs

purpose: to describe technical aspects of a new experimental model that simulates a non heart beating organ donor. methods: landrace pigs were operated on and cardiac arrest was obtained by means of myocardial infarction and interruption of ventilator support. results: mean cardiac frequency, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels, central venous pressure, oxygen saturation and concentration of expired co2 dropout occurred at seven minutes after cardiac arrest. conclusion: the procedure was easily reproduced and a homogeneous circulatory failure could de obtained by the end of seven minutes. the model is suitable for further studies regarding abdominal organ transplantation.