KentuckyOne Health and the University of Louisville (Ky.) have canceled plans to suspend the heart transplant program at Louisville, Ky.-based Jewish Hospital, Becker's has learned.
KentuckyOne Health announced in July it was voluntarily placing the heart transplant program on long-term inactivation on Aug. 17 due to the low number of transplants performed in recent years. But the health system and the university began discussions on maintaining the heart transplant program this month after signing an agreement allowing the University of Louisville Health to take charge of Jewish Hospital Nov. 1.
Now, KentuckyOne Health is asking the United Network of Organ Sharing to disregard its previous announcement on inactivating the heart transplant program.
"The heart transplant program is simply too important for our university, our community and the patients who are depending on this lifesaving procedure," said University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi, PhD. "Soon we will have a plan in place to ensure the viability of the program for the future."