July 19, 2023 – The Intermountain Health Heart Transplant Program has achieved a major medical milestone – performing the program’s 600th adult life-saving heart transplant and marking its 38th anniversary as one of the top cardiovascular transplant programs in the country.
Over the past 38 years, the Intermountain Heart Transplant Program has grown into a national model and is recognized as a center of excellence with high-quality outcomes and excellent survival rates post-transplant, which are among the highest in the nation.
“600 transplants are an important medical milestone to the community and an opportunity for all of us to celebrate and thank the donor families who offered the generous gift of donation when they lost their loved one,” said Rami Alharethi, MD, medical director of the Intermountain Heart Transplant and Artificial Heart Program at Intermountain Medical Center. “This milestone is also a terrific testament to the great team we have, including the patient who is at the center.”
Intermountain transplant surgeons William Caine, MD, and John Doty, MD, performed the 600th Intermountain Health adult heart transplant. Intermountain surgeons have subsequently performed their 608th heart transplant.
“It takes a lot of thoughtful, meticulous, long-term decisions by a lot of caring providers, clinicians, and multi-disciplinary team members to get to this point in a program,” said Bruce Reid, MD, heart transplant surgical director for Intermountain Health. “Our team truly cares about the individuals they partner with on this journey.”
The Intermountain Health Adult Heart Transplant Program began at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City in 1985 and moved to the new Intermountain Medical Center campus when it opened in 2007.
Over the past 38 years, the program has grown into a national model and is recognized as a center of excellence with high-quality outcomes and excellent survival rates post-transplant, which are among the highest in the nation.