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Heart Transplant Program

The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of Mayo Clinic transplant patients.

  1. Defying Odds to Make it Through to a Heart-Lung Transplant

    Aryn Clark needed a heart-lung transplant, but the wait was almost sure to be a long one. Advanced technology that did the work of her heart and lungs during that wait kept her healthy enough to be ready once transplant organs became available. Aryn Clark was born with two holes in her heart, a condition [...]

  2. Chronicling a Transplant Through the Eyes of a Caregiver

    Throughout Bob Washnock's journey to a heart transplant, his wife, Pam, was dedicated to being his caregiver. Pam then turned that experience into a book about caregiving in hopes of encouraging and supporting others who find themselves in that role. In the early morning hours of Feb. 20, 2013, Bob Washnock announced to his wife, [...]

  3. New Heart, New Hope and a Real Chance at a Future

    After years of struggling with cardiomyopathy, a heart transplant at Mayo Clinic renewed Thomas Kim's health and rekindled his confidence in the future. Thomas Kim had all but forgotten what it was like to make long-term plans. With his wife, Yona, by his side, the 48-year-old spent years focused on trying to figure out what [...]

  4. Comprehensive Care Offers Virginia Man a Path to Transplant

    When congestive heart failure led to the need for a heart transplant, Vincent Arnold turned to Mayo Clinic. The care he received took all his medical concerns into account, providing him a way to return to better health. It's been almost four years since Vincent Arnold began feeling winded and feeling like his heart was [...]

  5. A Sudden Detour for Heart Transplant, Then Back in Stride

    When Yasmin Mullings found out she needed a heart transplant, she wasn't sure she could go through with it. But with support and encouragement from her Mayo Clinic care team, Yasmin successfully navigated the transplant. Today, with a healthy heart, she's back to her active life. In 2015, Yasmin Mullings was relishing a fast-paced life. [...]

  6. Young Mom?s Long Wait Ends With Gift of a New Heart

    Sarah Bradley's heart failed when she was only 27 years old. Today, after more than two years living with the assistance of a device that kept her blood flowing and her health stable, she?s the grateful recipient of a new heart. For more than two years, Sarah Bradley lived with a broken heart. The muscle [...]

  7. Heart Transplant Puts an Active Athlete Back in Action

    Kraig Gresham was 47 years old when he received his heart transplant, but his journey to that life-changing surgery began years earlier. Kraig was born with aortic stenosis ? a birth defect that causes heart valves to narrow and obstruct blood flow. As a child he had heart problems as a result of his condition. [...]

  8. Teen Receives Thorough, Compassionate Care Before, During and After a Heart Transplant at Mayo Clinic

    When most people think of their happy place, they envision something like a warm, sunny beach or a cozy mountain cabin. But when Lisa Fairbairn thinks about a place that gives her comfort, Mayo Clinic?s Rochester campus comes to mind. She?s happiest there because it?s where her son Chase was given a second chance. Not [...]

  9. Coordination and Teamwork Make Simultaneous Surgeries Seamless for Heart Transplant Recipients

    Michael Tyler and William Tiger didn't know one another before the summer of 2016. But they now share a unique life event. Both 55-year-olds underwent heart transplant surgery at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus on the same day, at the same time. Completing the simultaneous procedures was a milestone for the Transplant Center team in Arizona, [...]

  10. Life Beyond A Heart Transplant is Vibrant and Full for Elmo Aquino

    Fifteen years ago, Elmo Aquino, a resident of Orange Park, Florida, was an avid runner. He'd competed in Jacksonville's Gate River Run, an annual 15-kilometer running event, several times. But one morning in the summer of 2001, his active lifestyle came to an abrupt end when suddenly, while on a treadmill, he found he couldn't [...]
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References
  1. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. http://www.srtr.org/default.aspx. Accessed May 13, 2016.
  2. U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News Best Hospitals 2015-16. http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings. Accessed Feb. 22, 2016.
  3. Cook AJ. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 2, 2014.
  4. Heart transplant program to resume in fall of 1986. Mayovox. 1986:37;1.
  5. Mancini D. Indications and contraindications for cardiac transplantation. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed April 22, 2016.
  6. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Heart transplant. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2013.
  7. Yip DS (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. June 20, 2016.
  8. Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Your child's heart transplant. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2013.
  9. Johnson JN (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 20, 2016.
  10. Vucicevic D, et al. Sirolimus based immunosuppression results in lower incidence of post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders in heart transplant recipients. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2015;34:s86.
  11. Kalya A, et al. Role of total artificial heart in the management of heart transplant rejection and retransplantation: Case report and review. Clinical Transplantation. 2013;27:e348.
  12. Shankar N, et al. LVAD implant as a bridge to heart transplantation is associated with allosensitization as measured by single antigen bead assay. Transplantation. 2013;96:324.
  13. Barbara DW, et al. The perioperative management of patients undergoing combined heart-liver transplantation. Transplantation. 2015;99:139.
  14. Burkhart HM, et al. Regenerative therapy for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: First report of intraoperative intramyocardial injection of autologous umbilical-cord blood-derived cells. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2015;149:e35. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002252231401602X. Accessed May 5, 2016.
  15. Pundi KN, et al. 40-year follow-up after the Fontan operation: Long-term outcomes of 1,052 patients. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2015;66:1700.
  16. Rosenbaum AN, et al. Current indications, strategies and outcomes with cardiac transplantation for cardiac amyloidosis and sarcoidosis. Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation. 2015;20:584.
  17. Grupper A, et al. Increased risk of antibody mediated rejection and subsequent allograft vasculopathy in women post cardiac transplantation. Journal of Women's Health. 2015;24:A-16.
  18. Rosenbaum AN, et al. Association between early cardiac rehabilitation and long-term survival in cardiac transplant recipients. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2016;91:149.
  19. Medical practice report: Heart transplant. Press Ganey. http://www.pressganey.com/. Accessed May 24, 2016.
  20. Khandhar SJ, et al. Optical coherence tomography for characterization of cardiac allograft vasculopathy after heart transplantation. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2013;32:596.
  21. Mayo Clinic Children's Center becomes first accredited pediatric heart failure institute in Minnesota and fourth in the nation (news release). http://www.evaluategroup.com/Universal/View.aspx?type=Story&id=458981. Accessed June 27, 2016.
  22. Doctors name America's top residency programs (news release). U.S. News & World Report. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/top-doctors/articles/2014/02/20/doctors-name-americas-top-residency-programs. Accessed June 27, 2016.
  23. Centers of excellence. Extracorporeal Life Support Organization. https://www.elso.org/Excellence/CentersofExcellence.aspx. Accessed June 27, 2016.
  24. Heilman RL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz. June 24, 2016.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has been recognized as one of the top Cardiology & Heart Surgery hospitals in the nation for 2018-2019 by U.S. News & World Report.

Learn more about this top honor

Heart Transplant Program

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