Heart Transplantation

A successful heart transplant depends on proper evaluation of the heart recipient, expertise in heart transplantation surgery and on-going monitoring after surgery to prevent organ rejection or infections.

At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, both transplant rates and patient survival rates are closely monitored.

The table below describes factors related to heart transplant rates at Cedars-Sinai, including the time that all heart transplant candidates at Cedars-Sinai spend on the wait list, how many donor hearts become available at Cedars-Sinai and how Cedars-Sinai's heart transplant rates compared to those of other heart transplant centers throughout the nation.

Cedars-Sinai Heart Transplant Rates	July 2008 - June 2009	July 2009 - June 2010
Person years *	13.4	17
Removals for transplant	29	40
Transplant rate (per year on wait list)	2.17	2.35
Expected transplant rate **	0.93	1.40
How do the rates at this center compare to those in the nation?	Statistically higher	Statistically higher

* Person years are calculated as days converted to fractional years. The number of days is counted from Jan. 1 or from the date of the first waiting listing until death, transplant, removal from the waiting list or Dec. 31.

** The expected transplant rate is adjusted for age, blood type, previous transplantation and time on the waiting list.

Survival Rates for Heart Transplant Patients at Cedars-Sinai

At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one-month, one-year and three-year survival rates are tracked for transplants patients.

The table below compares key outcome measurements for heart transplants done at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Both the numbers and percentages of heart transplant patients surviving one month, one year and three years are highlighted. In addition, survival rates for heart transplant patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are also compared to survival rates expected for heart transplant patients with similar ages and health conditions.

The one-month and one-year survival rates reflect patients receiving their first transplant between July 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2009. The three-year survival rate reflects patients receiving their first transplant between Jan. 1, 2005, and June 30, 2007. These data are reported to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

*Heart Transplant (Adults Age 18+)**	Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Patient Survival for:	1 Month	1 Year	3 Years
For transplants performed	Jul 2007 - Dec 2009	Jul 2007 - Dec 2009	Jan 2005 - Jun 2007
Number of transplants	65	65	64
Percent of patients surviving at the end of period observed**	93.9%	89.0%	85.9%
Expected, based on national experience***	95.4%	89.8%	83.2%
Cedars-Sinai's survival rates compared to what is expected for similar patients	Not significantly different	Not significantly different	Not significantly different

* These statistics reflect patients age 18 or older who had their first heart transplant. They do not include anyone who had a multiple organ transplant (such as a heart and lung transplant).

** Observed survival rates use the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate outcomes for patients for whom complete follow-up is not expected. Because different cohorts are followed for each time period, it is possible for the reported three-year survival to exceed one-year survival.

*** The survival rate that would be expected for the patients served by the center, given the characteristic mix of the recipient and donor (age, disease and blood type, etc.) and the experience of similar patients in the United States as a whole.