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SALT LAKE CITY -- Four Utah hospitals celebrated more than one thousand heart transplant success stories Thursday. Survivors and medical staff marked the 25th anniversary of the life-saving program.
The UTAH Cardiac Transplant Program is considered one of the nation's top collaborative transplant programs. UTAH stands for Utah Transplant Affiliated Hospitals. It has one of the best survival rates and is often cited as a model for other programs.
The UTAH Cardiac Program is one of only a handful of transplant programs in the country to have transplanted more than 1,000 patients.
Allyson Gamble and her family are simply thankful she got the care she needed.
"Our lives have been changed forever in our household," she said. "I have to tell you, it's a blessing."
Gamble received a heart transplant at Intermountain Medical Center nearly three years ago. Today, the 41-year-old wife and mother celebrates each moment with her family with purpose.
When she was pregnant with her 8-year-old son, the flu severely weakened her heart. She and her son, Benjamin, survived an emergency birth.
Gamble lived with a failing heart for six years, then quickly got worse before receiving the transplant. She said she savors every part of being alive and cherishes her husband and son every moment.
"The small things that used to drive us nuts about each other, we don't even worry about that," Gamble said. "Today, we take each other and say, 'Thank you.'"
The doctors said they learned a lot from Gamble about courage and determination. She wanted to head back to work as soon as the surgery was done.
Gamble thanked the medical team for taking care of her and hundreds of others.
- There were 2,163 heart transplants performed in the United States in 2008 and 2,210 in 2007.
- Each year thousands more adults would benefit from a heart transplant if more donated hearts were available.
- In the United States, 72.4 percent of heart transplant patients are male; 65.5 percent are white; 19.4 percent are ages 35-49 and 54.2 percent are age 50 or older.
- As of June 5, 2009, the one-year survival rate was 88.0 percent for males and 77.2 percent for females; the three-year survival rate was about 79.3 percent for males and 77.2 percent for females. The five-year survival rate was 73.1 percent for males and 67.4 percent for females.
"Was i scared? No. I had faith in this cardiac transplant team," she said.
Her son, Benjamin, is also thankful.
"It all works out good," he said. "But at first, I was just scared because I didn't know what was happening."
Thursday's celebration honored the four hospitals that forge their resources and expertise to save lives: Intermountain Medical Center, the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center, Primary Children's Medical Center and University of Utah Medical Center.
The hospitals work together to make sure people in the Intermountain West get the transplant care they need.
The transplant program also promotes research and saves costs by eliminating duplication of services. It recently saved patient number 1,066 -- a milestone reached by only a handful of transplant centers worldwide.
The heart transplant director at the VA Medical Center said the dedication of the people involved enables the program to excel.
- Intermountain Medical Center
- George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center
- Primary Children's Medical Center
- University of Utah Hospital
"People really care about what they're doing. We really want to not let people down, so I think everybody puts in the best effort of which he's capable," said Dr. Matthew Movsesian.
As far as Benjamin Gamble is concerned, he's glad he can go on walks with his mother and kick around a soccer ball in the back yard.
"It was just too scary for me," he said. "When she got the heart transplant, I can't believe she made it. It was just a miracle for her to make it through."
The program completed the first heart transplant in 1985 at University Hospital. The patient, Tony Shepherd, lives in Wyoming with his wife.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
