Cleveland Clinic completed its 2,000th heart transplantation in July, making it the third program in the U.S. to reach this milestone, the organization announced Aug. 26.
Cleveland Clinic has one of the largest heart transplant programs in the country. It officially began the program in 1984, and clinicians average 50-60 transplants a year, including around five to eight pediatric transplants.
Cleveland Clinic has also performed several dual-organ transplants including heart-liver, heart-lung and heart-kidney transplants on pediatric and adult patients.
"There are only a few programs in the world that have continued to have a long-term commitment to doing a large volume of heart transplants. We began our pioneering work on heart transplants in 1968 and we are delighted we now have served 2,000 patients with helping them with heart transplants," said Lars Svensson, MD, chairman of Cleveland Clinic's Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute.