OHSU Heart Transplant Program On 2-Week Hold Due To Staff Changes

PORTLAND, OR – The heart transplant program at Oregon Health & Sciences University was paused last Friday after three members of the team left or announced that they were leaving to pursue other opportunities. The three represent half of the six specialists on the heart transplant team.

The pause, which started on August 24, will last for two weeks.

OHSU runs the only heart transplant program in the state.

"The decision was made following the departure of one specialist and the planned departure of two others from the heart transplant program team," OHSU said in a statement to Patch.

"The remainder of the program team will continue to work and actively care for patients."

During the pause, the hospital says that program will not evaluate any new patients for the program, accept donor hearts, or perform any heart transplant surgeries.

"We know this situation is deeply unsettling to our patients and their families, and our clinicians and patient relations staff are working closely with them to ensure questions are answered and concerns addressed," according to the hospital's statement.

The hospital has notified the United Network for Organ Sharing, which manages the organ donation and transplant system as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of its decision.

OHSU says that while they have started the process of rebuilding – and expanding – its heart transplant team, there is the possibility that they might need to extend the pause longer than two weeks.

If that becomes necessary, they say that they will immediately notify patients and the community.

The program, which started in 1985, was the location of nearly 50 transplants over the past two years. There are nearly 4,000 people around the United States currently waiting for a heart transplant.

OHSU has one of the larger demands for heart transplants in the country. As of June 2017, there were 30 people on the waiting list. Approximately 15 percent of people on OHSU's waiting list died before they were able to receive a transplant.

That's about twice the rate nationwide.

There are two heart transplant centers in Washington – in Spokane and Seattle.

OHSU's other transplant programs – which are focused on kidneys and livers – are not affected.

Photo via OHSU.