Pioneers in Heart Transplantation
Stanford is recognized worldwide as a pioneering center for heart transplants. Dr. Norman Shumway and his colleagues developed the experimental basis for transplants in their early work, which then paved the way for the first adult heart transplant in the U.S. at Stanford in 1968. Since then, the Stanford team has developed many innovations and continues to advance new techniques in transplant surgery. To date, our medical teams have performed more than 1,200 heart transplants.
Innovations introduced in the transplant field from Stanford include:
- The operative method for heart transplantation
- The use of percutaneous, transvenous biopsy of the heart to detect rejection
- The use of new immunosuppressive drugs, including cyclosporine, to prevent rejection
- The first successful heart-lung transplantation procedure
- The first successful use of a mechanical device or left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as a bridge-to-heart transplantation
- The development of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to detect early evidence of transplant coronary artery disease
- The use of peripheral blood gene expression testing to identify patients at low risk for rejection, allowing doctors to safely decrease the number of biopsies performed
Approximately 40 to 50 patients undergo heart transplantation each year at Stanford. The procedures are performed in patients from newborns to adults over 60 years of age. Almost every type of end-stage heart disease has been treated here, and the Stanford team remains a leader in introducing new concepts and treatments to improve outcomes for transplant patients.
