Collaborative effort celebrates 1,000 Utah heart transplants

The success of Utah's four-hospital collaborative heart transplant program stretches from Damon Draheim, who got a second chance at life three weeks ago at Intermountain Medical Center, back 23 years to Tony Shepard, whose fresh start began March 8, 1985, at University Hospital.

In between are another 998 heart transplant patients whose lives were celebrated as the families of the heart donors were honored during a program at the Capitol Tuesday to commemorate 1,000 transplants by the UTAH Cardiac Transplant Program. It's a milestone reached in fewer than 10 programs worldwide.

Besides the U. and Intermountain, the other program partners are the VA Salt Lake City Medical Center and Primary Children's Medical Center.

The festivities drew heart recipients Allyson Gamble, 39, of Salt Lake, who celebrates the first anniversary of her transplant this week; Sam Hart, 74, of Salt Lake, who got his new heart nearly 23 years ago; David R. Irvine, 64, of Bountiful, who received the gift last Father's Day; Wesley Hill, 21, of Salt Lake City, transplanted 12 years ago; and Michael Cox, 26, a Kansas native who became ill while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and received a new heart last July.

The combined UTAH program was born of the belief that cooperation would lead to better outcomes and that "progress in the field would move faster. That's what's been realized. ... Without the cooperation, we wouldn't have been as successful," said Dr. Dale G. Renlund, director of the program, who predicts that, instead, they'd have been "squabbling."

Initially, the VA, Intermountain and the U. were partners. Primary Children's joined later.

Combined, they've achieved great results, he said, including a one-year survival rate of 93 percent, a five-year rate of 75 percent, more than 200 publications, $6.8 million in research dollars and training of 54 people. They've participated in pharmaceutical and other clinical trials to improve the outcomes for heart recipients, as well.

The cooperation in a competitive field has made all the difference, according to Dr. Kent W. Jones, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at IMC.

Dr. E. Michael Gilbert, who directs the program at the U., notes that the group meets weekly to discuss patients. "We all come to the table with slightly different skill sets," and learn from each other and from the others' patients.