University of Alberta Researcher Advances Enzyme Method for Organ Transplants

Adrien Lam, a Master of Science learner in the Department of Surgery at the University of Alberta, won the Falling Walls Lab Edmonton contest with a project focused on overcoming blood type incompatibility in heart transplants, the University of Alberta reported. Lam will travel to Berlin to represent Canada and present his team's findings on converting donor hearts for broader recipient use. [1]

According to the University of Alberta, patients who require a heart transplant often spend months or years on waitlists while viable donor organs remain unused due to mismatched blood types. Lam and his research team developed a two-step enzyme process called Azymes to remove specific markers from donor hearts and address organ shortages. [1]

A heart transplant is a surgical procedure for patients facing end-stage heart failure when other medical treatments fail. The standard procedure involves removing a functioning heart from a recently deceased donor and implanting it into the patient. [3]

Berlin, where the international contest takes place, is the capital of Germany and has a population of 3.7 million inhabitants within its city limits. [1][4]