For patients with heart failure that has not responded to other treatments, Duke’s transplant team provides an extensive evaluation to determine if transplant is the best treatment option.

Heart transplantation is considered for individuals only after all other available treatments have been tried, and optimized, and the therapies have failed to prevent further deterioration.

Improvement in technique and outcome have greatly expanded the criteria for heart transplant recipients so that patients into their mid-60s may be considered for transplant.

The evaluation determines the severity of the patient’s heart disease and the health of his or her other body systems.

Duke’s heart transplant team consists of:

• Transplant cardiologists
• Transplant surgeons
• Anesthesiologists
• Pathologists
• Nurse coordinators
• Financial coordinators
• Psychologists
• Social workers

Other disciplines that provide support include pharmacy, infectious disease, nutrition, physical therapy, and psychiatry.

Waiting Times

Duke averages 35 to 50 patients on the waiting list at any given time, with 60 to 70 transplants performed each year. More heart transplants would be performed if there were a greater availability of organs.

Once accepted into the program, the potential recipient’s name is entered into a national waiting list. Patients should expect to wait an average of six months from the time of listing.

The heart transplant patient guide booklet is issued to patients or patient families once they are admitted to the Heart Transplant Center at Duke.

The booklet will give you some information about heart function, the transplant process, and the course of recovery. However, it is not designed to answer every question, and you are encouraged to ask your physician or transplant coordinator any additional questions you might have.

Transplant Coordinators

Bradley Persing, RN, MSN
Elizabeth Soule, RN, MSN
Amber Maggard, RN, BSN

Transplant Social Worker

Ellen Stone, MSW

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

• Carboni, Michael P.
• Felker, G. Michael
• Hernandez, Adrian F.
• Jaggers, James
• Lodge, Andrew J.
• Milano, Carmelo A.
• Rogers, Joseph G.

Locations

This service is available at:

• Duke University Hospital
  2301 Erwin Road, Durham, NC 27710