| News From Transplant Week of March 4, 2001 / Vol. 2 No. 9 |
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Cincinnati Heart Transplant Program Suspended |
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University Hospital in Cincinnati has been forced to temporarily suspend its heart transplant program after an Aspergillis fungus was discovered in the hospital's cardiac intensive care unit during renovation. Doctors said that as a result of construction, there was no other part of the hospital where heart transplant patients could be moved, and accordingly the program was suspended until the renovation project is completed and the fungus removed. Dr. Santosh Menon, co-director of the transplant program, said the fungus is not considered dangerous, but officials did not want to take any changes because of the drugs used to suppress the immune systems of organ transplant patients. Doctors at the hospital -- the only heart transplant program in Cincinnati -- usually perform about 20 heart transplants a year. Hospital officials said four patients are currently waiting for hearts. If a heart becomes available during the several months of the renovation project, the patient would be transferred to the Cleveland Clinic, Menon said. Other sources: AP |
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