2,000 Hearts Transplanted at UCLA

UCLA Heart Transplant Program is celebrating a milestone of 2,000 heart transplants.

This makes the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center the second in the world to reach this number. Columbia University Medical Center is the only other medical institution to surpass 2,000 heart transplants.

"It is extraordinary that 2,000 donor hearts have been transplanted at UCLA, giving new life and new hope to pediatric and adult patients ranging in age from two weeks to 77 years," said Dr. Abbas Ardehali, professor of cardiothoracic surgery and director of the heart and lung transplant program at UCLA, in a statement released Wednesday. "Not only is this historic occasion a time for celebration, it is also an opportunity to thank those thousands of organ donors and their loved ones who gave the precious gift of life."

Earlier this month, a Riverside man received the 2,000th heart transplant. Bill Meadows, 59, had advanced dilated cardiomyopathy with secondary pulmonary hypertension. The four-hour surgery was performed by Dr. Reshma Biniwale, an assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery. 

UCLA's Heart Transplant Program was founded in 1984 and it attracts patients from all over California and the Western U.S., according to the university. In 2010, it was recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the best heart transplant program in the country. More than 2,000 heart transplants are performed in the U.S. each year.

UCLA's 2,000 heart transplants were performed on adults as well as children. A long donor waiting list ensures the program will beat on. More than 4,000 Americans are on the list, UCLA says. 

"We have achieved 2,000 heart transplant surgeries for kids and adults, but we are still counting," said Dr. Juan Alejos, medical director of the pediatric heart transplant program at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA. "We urge everyone to discuss organ donation with their family and register to become a donor. Organ donation truly saves lives." 

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