MAYO CLINIC TO BEGIN HEART TRANSPLANTATION IN THE PHOENIX AREA

Wednesday, September 01, 2004

Media Contact:
Lynn Closway
Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
480-301-4337
closway.lynn@mayo.edu

For Immediate Release - September 1, 2004

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Mayo Clinic has announced the expansion of its existing cardiovascular and transplantation programs to include heart transplantation and other advanced technologies for heart failure and heart disease in Arizona.

The new transplant program will meet a growing need for this service and build upon the success of Mayo's existing cardiac and transplant programs in Arizona.

Heart transplantation is expected to begin within the next 12 to 18 months at Mayo Clinic Hospital in northeast Phoenix. In addition to heart transplants, the program will provide the full spectrum of cardiac care, including surgery for advanced heart failure, ventricular assist device implantation and cardiac rehabilitation services.

The Mayo Clinic Heart Transplant Program will be the only such program located in the Phoenix area. Phoenix, recently cited as the fifth largest metropolitan area in the country, is the largest city in the U.S. without a heart transplant program. Nationally, for every patient receiving a heart, two patients are awaiting a transplant - or have died while waiting.

The Mayo Clinic Heart Transplant Program builds on the success of the solid organ transplant services already in place at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix — kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation.

In May 2004, Mayo celebrated completion of its 500th transplant at Mayo Clinic Hospital, incorporating solid organ transplants and blood and marrow transplants.

Mayo Clinic, at its sites in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida, performs the largest number of transplants in the U.S. - more than 1,100 per year.

The Heart Transplant Program will benefit from the infrastructure already in place that supports the solid organ transplant programs and includes clinical protocols consistent with those at Mayo in Rochester, Minn., and Jacksonville, Fla. A key benefit of the program will be the opportunity for integrated services and close collaboration among surgeons and physicians at all three Mayo Clinic sites.

"Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Arizona. We are pleased to announce this new heart transplant program, and we are confident there is enough patient demand and organ availability to support this important initiative," said Victor F. Trastek, chair, Board of Governors, Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Trastek added that the new service will enhance Mayo's clinical capabilities in transplant and cardiothoracic services. "By providing heart transplantation, we address a need in Maricopa County, and we continue to advance our strengths in serving the specialty care needs of patients in the Southwest," Trastek added.

Mayo Clinic is a private group practice of medicine dedicated to providing diagnosis and treatment of patient illnesses through a systematic focus on individual patient needs. As a leading academic medical center in the Southwest, Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale focuses on providing specialty and surgical care in more than 65 disciplines at its outpatient facility in north Scottsdale and at Mayo Clinic Hospital. The 202-licensed bed hospital is located at 56th Street and Mayo Boulevard (north of Bell Road) in northeast Phoenix, and provides inpatient care to support the medical and surgical specialties of the clinic, which is located at 134th Street and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale.

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