ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½

Advancing the field of heart transplantation
"ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ has a long history of innovation, reaching back to 1968 when we performed the country’s first adult heart transplant," says Dr. Teuteberg. "We proudly continue that tradition of excellence with an emphasis on pioneering the latest discoveries to improve patient care."

Donor Heart Study: Improving heart transplant acceptance rates
Over one-third of eligible donor hearts are discarded each year. ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½â€™s Donor Heart Study is helping decrease this waste and improve the pool of hearts available for transplant.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, this prospective, multisite, observational study investigated the reasons why centers do not accept certain donor hearts. From 2015 to 2020, the ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ team, led by Stanford Medicine cardiologist Kiran Kaur Khush, MD, enrolled over 4,000 potential donors. They collected data related to donor evaluation and acceptance for heart transplant.

Recently published from the Donor Heart Study are shedding new light on left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, which is often a reason for not accepting donor hearts. The ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ers looked at echocardiogram-measured LV function following declaration of brain death and again after 24 hours. They also measured acceptance rates and post-transplant survival rates for hearts with varying LV function.

The results showed:

• 13% of donor hearts had LV dysfunction after brain death.
• Based on the second echocardiogram, LV dysfunction was reversible 58% of the time.
• The acceptance rate for donor hearts was 60% for hearts with normal LV function, 56% for hearts with reversible LV dysfunction, and 24% for hearts with nonreversible LV dysfunction.
• The 1-year survival rate after transplant was similar for hearts with normal LV function (91.3%), reversible LV dysfunction (90.1%), and nonreversible LV dysfunction (91.3%).

"Heart transplant physicians can use these findings to guide donor evaluation and hopefully expand donor heart acceptance," says Dr. Khush.

Saving lives, one innovation at a time
The foundation for success at ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ is constantly pushing the boundaries of science and adopting new technologies. Recent advances in heart transplant care at ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ include:

• First successful transplant of a beating donor heart: Stopping the heart during the transplant process cuts off oxygen to the heart and can affect transplant success. A cardiothoracic surgical team, led byÌýJoseph Woo, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgery Department chair, performed the . The team is hopeful this new technique will improve patient outcomes.
  
• Noninvasive methods to detect transplant health: Transplant patients typically require invasive biopsies to assess the health of the transplanted heart. Researchers at Stanford Medicine have developed a blood test that uses . The test can also assess graft response to therapy, allowing a higher level of precision care. Patient monitoring using cfDNA is now a standard of care at ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½.
• Technological advances in delivering donor hearts: New is helping Stanford Medicine physicians extend the time between harvest and transplant. Providing better perfusion over longer distances can help increase the donor pool and transplant rates.

Comprehensive cardiac care
In addition to the Heart Transplant Program, ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ offers anÌýAdvanced Heart Failure ProgramÌýthat provides expert care for all causes, stages, and classes of heart failure. Heart failure clinics are available at multiple locations across the Bay Area, including Pleasanton,ÌýSan Jose, andÌýStanford.

"Our specialists have extensive training in managing advanced heart failure," says Dr. Teuteberg. "We offer a complete range of treatment options, including medical therapies, implantable devices, surgery, access to novel technologies and trials, and heart transplant."

Learn more about ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½â€™sÌýHeart Transplant ProgramÌýandÌýAdvanced Heart Failure Program.