Saint Luke's Performs 600th Heart Transplant

On Aug. 15, the 34-year-old from Pea Ridge, Ark., became the 600th patient to receive a heart transplant at Saint Luke’s.

This was Jamie’s second heart transplant—she received her first at Saint Luke’s in 2002.

Saint Luke’s offers the only adult heart transplant program in Kansas City. And only 21 U.S. programs have performed more than 600 transplants.

"Milestones like this are a cause for celebration and reflection," said Julie Quirin, Saint Luke’s Hospital CEO. "But while statistics and accolades are nice, what gives Saint Luke’s the most satisfaction is seeing transplant patients like Jamie go on to lead productive lives."

Patients like Jamie have greater odds of getting a new heart at Saint Luke’s than at most other U.S. hospitals. For the past five years, Saint Luke’s has ranked among the nation’s top 10 adult transplant centers for volume.

And patients don’t wait as long for new hearts either. In fact, 80 to 90 percent of our patients undergo a transplant within five months on average.

Saint Luke’s received the Medal of Honor for Organ Donation from the Department of Health and Human Services for successfully increasing the number of organs available for donation.

"Thanks to generous organ donors and their families, Jamie and hundreds of other patients have been given the gift of life," said Andrew Kao, M.D., medical director, Saint Luke’s cardiac transplantation program. "We’re so thankful for them."