Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute performs record number of transplants in 2010

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 30, 2010) — Saint Luke’s cardiac transplant program – the only one of its kind in the region – set a new record in 2010 for transplants. On Dec. 27, Brenton Tiede, a 38-year-old father of three from the Wichita area, received the 43rd heart transplant in 2010 at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, the most ever performed in a single year at the center. This year, the program also celebrates its 25th anniversary of cardiac transplantation.

Saint Luke’s offers the only transplant center in Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri, and is the only one in Kansas City. The program regularly surpasses national benchmarks for volumes and survival and ranks among the top 10 for number of adult transplants nationwide. While 80 percent of U.S. programs perform 20 or fewer heart transplants a year, Saint Luke’s averages 30 or more.

Wait times at Saint Luke’s are shorter as well with 90 percent of patients transplanted within six months. Nationwide, only 25 percent of patients receive transplants in less than six months. Patients who have heart transplants at Saint Luke’s are also more likely to live longer.

“This is an exciting milestone in the same year we’re celebrating 25 years of heart transplantation,” said Michael Borkon, M.D., surgical director of cardiac transplantation at Saint Luke’s and co-executive medical director at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. “It’s a real testament to the dedicated and highly experienced team of heart transplant specialists at Saint Luke’s.”

The hospital was recently awarded the Medal of Honor for Organ Donation from the Department of Health and Human Services for its success in increasing the number of organs available for donation. “Thanks to the gift of life from our organ donor families, many people in the Kansas City area have received a second chance at life through transplantation,” Dr. Borkon noted.

To date, the program has transplanted 487 patients since its inception.