Video: University of Minnesota Researchers Keep Human Heart Beating Outside the Body

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have demonstrated a human heart continuing to beat outside the body while connected to specialized machines that provide oxygen and circulation support.

The heart, preserved in a controlled laboratory environment, functions using its own internal electrical conduction system without the need for a pacemaker. Medical teams use advanced perfusion technology to keep the organ oxygenated and viable, allowing it to continue pumping even after removal from the chest.

Scientists say the work could help improve heart transplantation procedures, organ preservation, and research into cardiac diseases. The beating organ is a real human heart maintained through medical technology, not a computer simulation or artificial model.