Races for Heroes 2023: participate in an innovative project and save lives with the PEGASE project!
Heart transplantation can save lives in the most severe cases of heart failure, where medical treatment is insufficient. Unfortunately, there are not enough donors compared to the number of recipients waiting for a heart transplant: there is 1 heart transplant for 2 recipients.
In this context, it is therefore essential to search for and evaluate all existing potential grafts that are currently unused but could save patients’ lives.
This is the objective of the PEGASE research project conducted by the IHU ICAN!
This project aims to transport hearts from eligible donors over a long distance and therefore for a long period of time, thanks to an innovative ex-vivo perfusion device that makes it possible to preserve the organ and maintain its proper functioning until the transplant.
Join us in the Race for Heroes 2023 to support heart transplantation and save lives!
On June 18, 2023, the IHU ICAN team will again participate in this solidarity race to raise funds for the PEGASE project.
Donate, collect or participate: find below the 3 ways to support us!
How is the PEGASE project going?
The PEGASE project is aimed at patients with irreversible end-stage heart failure for whom there is a medical indication for transplantation but who cannot be transplanted because of the restrictive graft allocation policy. These patients suffer from end-stage heart failure and are in a therapeutic impasse. Their vital prognosis is directly engaged for lack of transplantation.
The course of the project
- The heart is harvested from a donor eligible for cardiac harvesting, according to current recommendations and practices,
- The heart transplant is transferred to Paris on a regular commercial flight according to the usual procedures,
- Once it arrives at one of the airports in the Ile-de-France region, the graft is then transferred to the heart transplant center of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (Paris 13e) to be transplanted into the recipient.
As an expert center in cardiac transplantation, the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Group will be able to help patients waiting for a transplant benefit from this study. The PEGASE project is led by Pr Pascal Leprince (Head of the Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Department) and his assistant Pr Guillaume Lebreton (Cardiac Surgeon).
The Agence de la biomédecine (ABM) is involved in the project to ensure that the rules of health safety, ethics and equity are respected.
How important is the project to patients?
In a context of organ shortage, the PEGASE project is a solid opportunity to increase the number of usable heart transplants for patients waiting for a heart transplant.
It would allow the transplantation of about ten additional hearts each year, which are currently not harvested for lack of a suitable preservation solution.
In addition, the proof of concept will open up other opportunities related to prolonged organ preservation and complex transplantation.
How to support the PEGASE project?
If you feel strongly about this cause, there are several ways you can support the PEGASE team and the participants of the IHU ICAN Hero Run.
All members of the IHU ICAN community are welcome to join us in this solidarity race (physicians, patrons, donors, partners, former employees…).
Create your fundraising page to share with your network, whether you participate in the race or not.
Make a donation on the collection pages of the participants, who must collect 250€ each to take the start.
Commit your company to supporting this project by building a team or making a donation.
What will your donations be used for?
Your donations will support the 3-year pilot study, which aims to to provide this cardiac transplant to 7 patients with an indication for transplantationbut cannot currently be placed on the waiting lists because they do not meet the criteria for entry into the conventional system.
Thanks to the Run for Heroes 2023, our medical teams hope to raise the sum of 10 000€ to support the transplantation of one of these 7 patients.
Join the race to support heart transplantation!
Do you have a question about the PEGASE project or the Race for Heroes? Contact Francine Trocmé, Director of Sponsorship and Communication, f.trocme@ihuican.org.
