HOPE Box for hearts
We want to make the world's best transplant technology available to all New Zealanders, but we need $63,000 to save a life that would otherwise be lost. The HOPE Box carries the most extraordinary gift a person can give – their heart.
To date, Auckland City Hospital's world-class heart and lung transplant team has saved 18 New Zealanders' lives with donor hearts transported in a hypothermic oxygenated perfusion (HOPE) Box. With the HOPE Box, oxygen is continuously supplied, temperature control is superior, and hearts are preserved for well over six hours; but it sits beyond government funding.
Help us save more lives with the HOPE Box
Auckland City Hospital was one of the first hospitals in the world to use the HOPE Box. Our team was part of a trial with four Australian hospitals, from 2021-2022, which sought to push the boundaries in how long donor hearts can be preserved. The results were excellent. In the trial, 36 patients had donor hearts preserved for over six hours (up to nine hours), and there were no deaths. This would be unthinkable with traditional "on ice" preservation.
Auckland City Hospital is New Zealand's only provider of heart and lung transplants. The HOPE Box allows us to successfully transplant hearts from anywhere in New Zealand, and also from Australia. This is otherwise impossible due to the travel time making the heart inviable for transplant, as it deteriorates rapidly after 3 to 4 hours. The HOPE Box brings a much lower risk of complications, with its superior preservation, and the donor pool is much larger.
As it currently sits outside the scope of government funding, we are relying on donations and philanthropy to make this ground-breaking technology more readily available for every Kiwi who needs a new heart. You never know when that might be you or a loved one.
Your support could make all the difference for someone whose time is running out, by helping them receive the priceless gift of life, with the HOPE Box.
Can you help give critically ill New Zealanders the best chance to live?
While there is adequate government funding for New Zealand's existing national heart and lung transplant service, we must go beyond the capabilities of government budgets to save more lives.
meet heart transplant patient: taylor keepa
HOPE saves teenager, Taylor
Taylor was 17 years old, finishing school, working part-time, and feeling healthy. But in May 2023, his life came crashing down. Suddenly, Taylor became too sick to drink, eat, or move.
When mum Michelle found him on the bathroom floor of their Hamilton home, he was rushed to Waikato Hospital. Ultrasounds revealed genetic heart issues, and when Taylor’s health continued to deteriorate, he was flown into the care of NZ's top Cardiovascular Care team at Auckland City Hospital. Taylor desperately needed a new heart.
Nine months later, all hope felt lost. But on New Year’s Day, Taylor got the life-changing news that a heart in Australia had become available. The transplant team immediately flew across the Tasman, while our surgical team prepared to give Taylor the heart that saved his life. Read more of Taylor's incredible story here, and watch him on 1News below.
Can you help us give more Kiwis, like Taylor, a second chance at life?
Young and healthy, Taylor never imagined he would need a heart transplant. Your donations mean the world to our transplant team and every New Zealander, like Taylor, who relies on the team to survive.
meet Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Surgical Director: dr amul sibal
HOPE Box breaks barriers
Traditionally, a donor heart is transported on ice, in a chilly bin. There is a clock ticking, with the best outcomes achieved within 3 to 4 hours of the time the heart is put on ice.
The HOPE Box is a global game-changer. "Any surgeon who has performed a transplant using this transport method would prefer it for every transplant. But we have to ration its use due to cost," says Dr Sibal. "Deciding when to use expensive resources – when those funds are also needed elsewhere – is one of our team's biggest challenges."
