This option for children and adults may make the difference between progressive deterioration and a productive life. When it was established in 1979, UMC s heart transplant program was one of only six programs in the United States. Surgeons successfully implanted the first artificial heart, the Jarvik 7, in 1985, as a bridge to transplant in a patient waiting for a donor. Lung Transplant Statistics Adult and Pediatric Patients Year Est. Patients with Class IV end-stage cardiac disease where the prognosis for survival is less than 12 months are candidates for transplantation.
Age is a flexible criterion.
Patients over the age of 65 are scrutinized closely to insure they can withstand the procedure and post-operative immunosuppressive therapy. Patients with emphysema, cystic fibrosis or other chronic lung disease are considered on an individual basis. Age is a flexible criterion. Patients over the age of 50 are scrutinized closely for evidence of disease in any other major organ systems and for the ability to tolerate the procedure and post-operative immunosuppressive therapy. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Alpha I Antitrypsin Deficiency, or emphysema.