Organ-Protecting Solutions

Multi-talents for many indications

As early as in 1965, Dr. Franz Köhler Chemie GmbH developed CARDIOPLEGIN®, the world’s first approved cardioplegic drug (1972 to 1997), which stops the heart temporarily through hypermagnesemia. At that time, it was a completely new method to better protect the heart muscle. According to the usual procedure, the cardiac arrest was induced through hyperkalemia.

It wasn’t until the early 1980s that the cardiac arrest was carried out using cardio protection with CUSTODIOL® (HTK solution according to Bretschneider).

From 1973, together with Professor Dr. H.-J. Bretschneider (1922 to 1993) from Göttingen, Dr. Franz Köhler Chemie GmbH started the research for developing  an organ-protecting solution with outstanding properties, a solution that would be incomparable to other organ-protecting solutions due to its universal application. CUSTODIOL® is suitable for ‘in situ’ open heart surgery and also for  kidney perfusion for blood free tumor resection as well as for the removal of multiple organs during organ transplantation. In more than 100 countries, CUSTODIOL® is applied for the mentioned indications. Based on its numerous superior advantages, the solution has gained a high reputation in heart surgery and transplant medicine.

Vascular protection solutions – a reasonable solution for the cold storage of blood vessels

Just as many tissue types or biological material (i.e. islet cells of the pancreas, hepatocytes, and many more), vascular grafts are preferably stored cold. Depending on the tissue type and the required storage time, physiological saline solutions with varying additives are used for the most part, or organ-protecting solutions known from transplant medicine.

Taking into account recent pathophysiological findings from the storage of vessels, a special protection solution was developed which leads to an improved quality of ischemic vessels. Thus, the endothelial microstructure of the vessels remains completely intact over a long period of time. It may be assumed that e. g. the risk of renewed occlusion of the coronary vessels will be reduced, or such occlusion will happen at a later time.

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