Heart, Heart-Lung, and Lung Transplant Program

Stanford has been recognized as the pioneering center for heart transplants. Dr. Norman Shumway and his colleagues developed the experimental basis for transplants in their early work, which laid the groundwork for the first adult heart transplant in the United States at Stanford in January of 1968. Since then, many innovations have originated with the Stanford program, which continues to advance new techniques in surgery. The Stanford team has conducted more than 1000 heart transplants.

In 1981, the first successful transplantation of the lung was performed at Stanford by Dr. Bruce Reitz and his colleagues as a heart-lung transplant. This was made possible by the use of the immunosuppressive drug, cyclosporine, and previous laboratory research performed at Stanford. The Stanford team is the longest continually active team performing lung transplantation, and new advances continue to be made in our research laboratories. At Stanford, more than 150 patients have received a heart-lung transplant, and recently, more than 120 patients have received either a single lung or double lung transplant.

Innovations, which have been introduced in the transplant field from Stanford, have included:

• 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, for treatment of rejection
• The first successful heart-lung transplantation procedure
• The first use of a living related donor for lung transplantation
• New methods for preserving the lung prior to transplantation and for detecting and treating rejection

Heart transplant patients benefit from the model of a cardiac transplant team consisting of dedicated transplant nurse coordinators, cardiac pathologists, and both pre-and post-operative transplant cardiologists. The lung transplant team consists of medical pulmonologists, surgeons, fellows, transplant nurse coordinators and intensive care nurses experienced in lung transplantation.

Approximately 40 to 50 patients undergo heart transplantation each year at Stanford, while an additional 12 to 20 patients receive some type of lung transplant. 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, and the Stanford team remains a leader in introducing new concepts and treatments to improve the care of the transplant patient.

Faculty and Staff

Pre-transplant

Michael Fowler, MD
Director, Cardiomyopathy Center
• John Schroeder , MD
• Randy Vagelos, MD

Post-transplant

• Sharon Hunt, MD
  Director, Cardiac Transplant Program
• Hannah Valantine, MD
• Mark Perlroth, MD

Post-transplant nurses

• Peggy Byrne-Lennon, RN
• Annie Mullin, RN
• Lisa Prikazsky, RN

Post-transplant nurses

• Joan Miller, RN
• Pat Gamberg, RN
• Helen Luikart, RN
• Mary Ann Merlo, RN

Pre-Heart Transplant Coordinator

• Valerie Cannon

Patient appointments/Contact information

Please contact us at (650) 723-6459