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Packaging for prosthetic heart valves including an assembly for securely retaining a heart valve within a jar and facilitating retrieval therefrom. The assembly includes a packaging sleeve that fits closely within the jar and has a clip structure for securing a valve holder. Contrary to previous des

Packaging for prosthetic heart valves including an assembly for securely retaining a heart valve within a jar and facilitating retrieval therefrom. The assembly includes a packaging sleeve that fits closely within the jar and has a clip structure for securing a valve holder. Contrary to previous designs, in one embodiment the valve holder is directed downward into the jar, and the valve is retained with an inflow end upward. The valve may have flexible leaflets, and a leaflet parting member on the end of the shaft extends through the leaflets and couples with the valve holder. The assembly of the packaging sleeve, valve, and holder can then be removed from the jar and a valve delivery tube connected with the holder, or to the leaflet parting member. The packaging sleeve may be bifurcated into two halves connected at a living hinge to facilitate removal from around the valve/holder subassembly.

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1. A method of preparing a packaged prosthetic heart valve for implant, comprising: providing a packaged prosthetic heart valve having an inflow end and an outflow end, a valve holder being assembled to the outflow end of the valve and the assembly of the valve and holder being positioned within a j

1. A method of preparing a packaged prosthetic heart valve for implant, comprising: providing a packaged prosthetic heart valve having an inflow end and an outflow end, a valve holder being assembled to the outflow end of the valve and the assembly of the valve and holder being positioned within a jar with the holder oriented toward the bottom of the jar;extending a shaft through the middle of the heart valve from the inflow end to the outflow end and coupling the shaft to the valve holder; andremoving the assembly of the valve and holder from the jar using the shaft,wherein the packaged prosthetic heart valve further comprises a packaging sleeve sized to fit closely within the jar and rest on the bottom thereof, the sleeve having structure to which the valve holder removably couples, the method comprising removing the assembly of the valve, holder and packaging sleeve from the jar using the shaft, andwherein the packaging sleeve comprises a single molded component having a plurality of lower legs extending downward from a generally planar clip that together elevate the clip above and generally parallel to the jar bottom, and a plurality of upstanding posts having longer lengths than the legs projecting upward from the clip into proximity with the jar lid, and the structure to which the valve holder removably couples is a central docking aperture of a generally planar clip that has an entry slot open to the central docking aperture, the method further comprising decoupling the valve holder from the clip. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the prosthetic heart valve comprises a plurality of flexible leaflets mounted to commissure posts around a peripheral non-expandable support structure with free edges that project toward an outflow direction and meet or coapt along a valve axis. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing a leaflet parting member on the shaft that pushes past the flexible leaflets and couples to the valve holder. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising attaching a valve delivery tube to the leaflet parting member from the outflow side of the valve, and detaching the shaft from the leaflet parting member. 5. A method of preparing a packaged prosthetic heart valve for implant, comprising: providing a packaged prosthetic heart valve having an inflow end and an outflow end, a valve holder being assembled to the outflow end of the valve and the assembly of the valve and holder being positioned within a jar with the holder oriented toward the bottom of the jar;extending a shaft through the middle of the heart valve from the inflow end to the outflow end and coupling the shaft to the valve holder; andremoving the assembly of the valve and holder from the jar using the shaft,wherein the packaged prosthetic heart valve further comprises a packaging sleeve sized to fit closely within the jar and rest on the bottom thereof, the sleeve having structure to which the valve holder removably couples, the method comprising removing the assembly of the valve, holder and packaging sleeve from the jar using the shaft, andwherein the packaging sleeve comprises a single molded component defined by two substantially similar halves pivotally connected together at a living hinge at the peripheral edge of the sleeve, the method further comprising separating the two sleeve halves to decouple the valve holder from the sleeve. 6. A method of preparing a packaged prosthetic heart valve for implant, comprising: providing a packaged prosthetic heart valve having flexible leaflets, an inflow end and an outflow end, a valve holder being assembled to the outflow end of the valve and the assembly of the valve and holder being positioned within a jar with the holder oriented toward the bottom of the jar;extending a shaft having a leaflet parting member thereon through the middle of the heart valve from the inflow end to the outflow end past the flexible leaflets and coupling the leaflet parting member to the valve holder;removing the assembly of the valve and holder from the jar using the shaft;attaching a valve delivery tube to the leaflet parting member from the outflow side of the valve; anddetaching the shaft from the leaflet parting member. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the packaged prosthetic heart valve further comprises a packaging sleeve sized to fit closely within the jar and rest on the bottom thereof, the sleeve having structure to which the valve holder removably couples, the method comprising removing the assembly of the valve, holder and packaging sleeve from the jar using the shaft. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the packaging sleeve comprises a single molded component having a plurality of lower legs extending downward from a generally planar clip that together elevate the clip above and generally parallel to the jar bottom, and a plurality of upstanding posts having longer lengths than the legs projecting upward from the clip into proximity with the jar lid, and the structure to which the valve holder removably couples is a central docking aperture of a generally planar clip that has an entry slot open to the central docking aperture, the method further comprising decoupling the valve holder from the clip. 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the packaging sleeve comprises a single molded component defined by two substantially similar halves pivotally connected together at a living hinge, the method further comprising separating the two sleeve halves to decouple the valve holder from the sleeve. 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the packaging sleeve comprises at least two components, one of the components being a generally planar clip and the other component circumscribing the clip and extending substantially the entire axial height of the jar between the bottom and the lid, the method comprising removing the assembly of the valve, holder and packaging sleeve from the jar using the shaft. 11. The method of claim 6, wherein the leaflet parting member comprises threads that engage mating threads on the valve holder, the method comprising providing structure in the jar that prevents rotation of the valve holder relative to the jar in at least one direction. 12. A method of preparing a packaged prosthetic heart valve for implant, comprising: opening a jar containing a packaged prosthetic heart valve having flexible leaflets therein, the heart valve having an inflow end and an outflow end, a valve holder being assembled to the outflow end of the valve and the assembly of the valve and holder being positioned in the jar with the holder oriented toward the bottom of the jar;extending a shaft through the middle of the heart valve from the inflow end to the outflow end past the flexible leaflets and coupling the shaft to the valve holder;removing the assembly of the valve and valve holder from the jar using the shaft;securing a valve delivery tube with respect to the valve holder on the outflow side of the valve; anddetaching the shaft from the valve holder. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the packaged prosthetic heart valve further comprises a packaging sleeve sized to fit closely within the jar and rest on the bottom thereof, the sleeve having structure to which the valve holder removably couples, the method comprising removing the assembly of the valve, holder and packaging sleeve from the jar using the shaft. 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising a leaflet parting member removably attached to a distal end of the shaft such that the leaflet parting member directly couples to the valve holder, and wherein the valve delivery tube attaches directly to the leaflet parting member. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the leaflet parting member comprises threads that engage mating threads on the valve holder, the method comprising providing structure in the jar that prevents rotation of the valve holder relative to the jar in at least one direction. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the leaflet parting member comprises a female receptacle with a series of axial grooves that receive axial ribs on the shaft which fit snugly into the axial grooves in an interference fit and transfer torque between the two elements. 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the leaflet parting member comprises an externally-threaded narrower distal portion that passes through and projects through the valve holder, and the valve delivery tube include female threads that mate with the leaflet parting member distal portion. 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the valve delivery tube provides an elongated access channel aligned with a bore through the valve holder, and the valve delivery tube include a proximal coupler on an end opposite the holder for attaching to additional components of a delivery system.