A homograft valve is a human heart valve, normally from an organ donor.
The first recorded instance of an aortic homograft transplant occurred in 1962, by the hands of Donald Ross. Homograft valves are subdivided into allograft and autograft valves.
Donald Ross later (in1967) established the Ross Procedure, a two surgery treatment in which a patient's own pulmonary valve replaces the aortic valve, and the pulmonary valve is replaced with an allograft from a cadaver.
Autograft
An autograft valve consists of tissue taken from the patient to engineer their own valve replacement.
Allograft
Allograft valves are tissue from the same species, but different genotype. Valves from cadavers create allogaft valves.
Xenograft
This porcine valve has been coated with antigens and suture ring
These are valves from different species. Typically porcine or bovine valves would be used in this type of transplant. This was also one of the first successful valve replacement surgeries, completed in 1965. After some years doctors began to coat xenografts with antigens to reduce the amount of organ rejections. Xenografts last between 10 to 15 years.