First Partial Heart Transplant
March 12, 2024 | Terry Sharrer
“Nearly a year after a newborn received the world’s first partial heart transplant, the transplanted valves and arteries are functioning well and growing along with the child’s heart — a key measure of success in the procedure paving the way for future advancements. A team at Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health performed the partial heart transplant in a newborn with truncus arteriosus last spring. The transplant involved fusing the arteries and valves from a freshly donated heart onto the patient’s existing heart. . . . . Duke Health physicians who led the landmark transplant published a study that showed the approach led to functioning parts of the heart that are growing along with the patient.” MORE
Image Credit: Duke University School of Medicine