Heart of the matter

Dr. Hemant Thatte, a Mumbai-born senior cardiovascular surgeon at Harvard University, has worked out a 21-chemical solution that could help preserve a donated organ for up to a week prior to a transplant. At present, organs retrieved from brain-dead people can be saved only for a few hours, so, the heart can be stored for up to four hours only. But with Dr. Thatte’s SOMAH solution, which in Sanskrit means elixir of immortality, hearts stored in it can be revived without medicine, even after 24 hours. SOMAH can be used at room temperature, which can be of great advantage.