Frontier Lifeline (Dr. K.M. Cherian Heart Foundation) will release indigenously produced biological cardiovascular grafts, for the first time in Asia.
The three biomedical materials, the bovine pericardium, porcine valves and a valve from the neck of buffalo, which were prepared and processed through tissue engineering facility at Frontier Lifeline will be introduced as the part of an international conference ‘Frontier Conclave in Cardiovascular Sciences’ held on 9th to 11th of December 2005.
“The need of biological conduits with a competent valve for many cases and the lack of conduits acquired from cadaver human hearts to meet the needs lead the hospital for such a technology,” informed Dr. K.M. Cherian, CEO and chairman, Frontier Lifeline in a press conference. The hospital has already used the bovine jugular veins and bovine pericardial patches for 77 patients, which showed good clinical outcome.
Frontier Lifeline has entered into a pact with Meat Products of India, a Kerala government undertaking for procurement of pig valves and another pact with another private meat processing unit at Andhra Pradesh for procuring buffalo valves. The hospital has set up a lab at TICEL Biopark, Chennai for preparing and procuring the extracted valves. The unit will commence functioning soon after some of the facilities being installed.
“All the animal tissues are procured from the abattoir using sterile precautions and are processed in the laboratory under strict aseptic conditions, in order to ensure their safety and efficacy. The animal tissue will undergo various testing for biocompatibility, cytotoxicity according to the US FDA standards. Availability of the tissues, biocompatibility and the cost effectiveness when compared to the cost of importing such tissues from other countries like Germany are the major benefits of the new facility,” said Dr. Cherian.
Frontier Lifeline is conducting the three-day international conference on cardiovascular sciences which will be attended by over 20 internationally renowned experts from overseas. Dr. John. W. Kirklin Memorial Oration, in memory of Dr. John. W. Kirklin, the father of cardiac surgery, will be the highlight of the conference.
A paediatric cardiac workshop will also be organised with the conference with live demonstration of adult cardiac surgery electrophysiology. Multiple, complex and complicated congenital heart diseases, various complications arising in these patients and how to deal them will also be discussed in the conference.