First Heart Transplant Performed after The University Hospital Program Reactivated

Contact: Amy Bomar or Pat Samson (513) 585-7200
03/13/2002

Cincinnati--A patient received a heart transplant at The University Hospital on Monday, March 11, the first transplant since the program's recent reactivation. Ronald Harter, 55, from Bridgetown, OH, is the recipient of the first heart.

The Heart Transplant program at The University Hospital was reactivated in February 2002, after temporarily closing late February 2001.

The transplant was performed by surgeons Jeffrey Pearl, M.D., and John Flege, M.D. The patient's cardiologist is Lynne Wagoner, M.D., medical director of heart transplantation. "It's great to be able to offer heart transplantation in Greater Cincinnati again," says Wagoner. "We have built an extremely successful program throughout the years, one that is a real convenience to patients who need our services."

The University Hospital's transplant program celebrated its 15th anniversary in 1999. As the region's first and only adult heart transplant center, the program's one-year transplant survival rate exceeds 90 percent, which surpasses the national average, according to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) statistics. It is one of the most active and successful heart transplant centers in the nation, the program has performed 303 heart transplants to date.

The University Hospital is part of the Health Alliance, an integrated health care delivery system that also includes The Christ Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care.</p><br>