Heart Transplant Program at The Children's Hospital

For those children and their families who have exhausted other approaches to the treatment of heart conditions, a heart transplant may become the best alternative. It is important to acknowledge that a heart transplant is not yet a cure and your child will require a lifetime of follow up care. Your child will need to be on medication the rest of his life. While a transplant does not completely fix your child’s medical problems, it can offer you and your family hope for a more normal, healthy life.

Heart Transplants at The Children's Hospital

The Children's Hospital Heart Transplant team is committed to you, your family, and your child. We believe in family-centered care, which means that we expect you will take an active role in participating in your child's care. Working together, we can make the miracle of transplantation a reality for your child. The Children's Hospital Cardiac Transplant Program is associated with the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Transplant Program. The program has seen tremendous success since it began in 1990. The Children’s Hospital is one of the leaders in pediatric heart transplantation with some of the best patient and graft survival rates. The Transplant Program has been very innovative in the care of infants awaiting heart transplantation, allowing infants to frequently wait at home, rather than in an intensive care setting. You should feel confident that by choosing The Children’s Hospital Heart Transplant Program you will be served by one of the best pediatric heart transplant programs available.

Transplant Evaluation Process

Your child is considered for a heart transplant when his cardiologist believes that neither medications or surgery will keep your child healthy. At The Children’s Hospital, we do an extensive evaluation to determine if your child will, in fact, benefit from a heart transplant.

UNOS Waiting List

If you, your child and the transplant team at The Children’s Hospital decide that a heart transplant is what is best for your child, then he is placed on the national waiting list. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is the national non-profit organization that coordinates the organ transplant network under contract to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). UNOS, along with the Donor Alliance (local recovery agency) keeps track of all patients waiting a transplant and all potential donors. The Children’s Hospital coordinates all of its heart transplant procedures with the help of these organizations.