U of Kansas Says It Will Not Restart Heart Transplant Program

The University of Kansas Medical Center announced it will indefinitely postpone the restart of its revamped heart transplant program, which has been halted since the mid-1990s.

KU Med officials said the decision was based on a combination of factors including rapid growth of its existing heart-surgery program and an increase in indigent care that is straining the hospital's resources.

The center, which began transplanting hearts in 1984, stopped performing the transplants in 1994 when the surgeons who performed heart transplants left the program. It officially closed the program a year later.

But in 2001, KU Med announced with some fanfare that it had applied to the United Network for Organ Sharing to begin performing heart transplants again and expected to perform 10 to 15 a year (see earlier Transplant Week story).

Other Sources: Kansas City Star