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UW Medicine surgeons saved a patient with dual-organ transplant

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By Lily Ramsey, LLM

Doctors in Seattle are reporting a history-making case in which a patient received two donor organs, a liver and a heart, to prevent the extreme likelihood that her body would reject a donor heart transplanted alone. In this innovative case, the organ recipient’s own healthy liver was transplanted, domino-like, into a second patient who had advanced liver disease.

The dual-organ recipient, Adriana Rodriguez, 31, of Bellingham, Washington, has recovered well since the Jan. 14, 2023, procedures, said Dr. Shin Lin, a cardiologist at the UW Medicine Heart Institute.
Read the complete article in News Medical Life Sciences.

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Have a heart, gallant youth survives two transplants

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By Sylvester Brown Jr.

Imagine having a four-year-old son who seemed healthy and normal. Suddenly, your child has trouble keeping food down and then loses his appetite completely. You take him to the hospital, and he’s diagnosed with a bowel obstruction. You then find out it’s a misdiagnosis; your child’s heart is failing, and he’s been placed on the donor list for an immediate heart transplant.

“The news hit us like a ton of bricks,” said Makiyah Mosley-Flye. She and her husband, Antonio, live in Cape Girardeau, Mo. They have two children: 12-year-old daughter, Adrianna and Kyndric who’s now 8-years-old. Read the full story in The St. Louis American.

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Join the fight for patient rights!

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You may already be aware of a recent Medicare change that limits coverage for non-invasive transplant blood tests such as AlloSure and AlloMap which could put patients at risk.

A patient-focused coalition, Honor the Gift, has created a way for you to get involved to protect patient access to care by sending a letter directly to your congressman voicing your concern. Honor the Gift is dedicated to advocating for greater access and coverage for the care and services that help to ensure the long-term health of transplant patients. 

Help make sure every transplant patient continues to receive the critical innovations they deserve.

Click on the link below to learn more about Honor the Gift and to write your member of Congress today.

Act now—the voices of transplant patients can make a difference!

Click here to send your congressman a letter now.

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Intermountain’s heart transplant team celebrates 600th transplant

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By Emily Ashcraft, KSL.com

MURRAY — Jessica Leon received her “miracle” on April 27, and she expressed gratitude Tuesday for her “hero donor” who allowed her to continue raising her two daughters.

Leon said she can’t imagine the pain the heart donor’s family went through, but she said with their “merciful decision, they prevented my daughters (from going) through the same type of loss.” Read the full story on KSL.com.

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In historic procedure, donor liver protects heart transplant

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By University of Washington School of Medicine

Doctors in Seattle are reporting a history-making case in which a patient received two donor organs, a liver and a heart, to prevent the extreme likelihood that her body would reject a donor heart transplanted alone. In this innovative case, the organ recipient’s own healthy liver was transplanted, domino-like, into a second patient who had advanced liver disease. Read the full article in Medical Xpress.

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‘Access to care is key’: Closing the race disparity gap in heart transplant

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By Regina Schaffer

Editor’s Note: This is part 2 of a three-part Healio Exclusive series on developments and challenges in heart transplantation. Part 1 can be viewed here.

Heart transplant is the most effective treatment for end-stage HF but it is also the scarcest of HF therapies — particularly for patients from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Read the full article in Healio.

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Texas physicians perform rare partial heart transplant on 11-month-old

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By Mariah Taylor

UT Health Austin and Dell Children’s Medical Center physicians performed the world’s seventh pediatric partial heart transplant.

The surgery was performed June 23 on an 11-month-old baby who was born with a congenital heart defect condition. The baby’s valve between the lower left heart chamber and the main artery did not open fully, according to a July 10 system press release. The 11-hour surgery used valves from a donor heart as a complete transplant. Read more in Becker’s Hospital Review.

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