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Tufts Medical Center Marks 800 Heart Transplant Milestone

October 3, 2024
Graphic celebrating 800 heart transplants at Tufts Medical Center

Tufts Medical Center’s Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant team has reached an exciting milestone, performing the hospital’s 800th heart transplant procedure in October 2024. “We’re proud to celebrate this milestone and every successful transplantation we have the privilege to perform, said Gregory Couper, MD, Surgical Director of the Advanced Heart Failure Program. “Each heart transplant is an opportunity for a person to live a longer and more fulfilling life, and it means countless more families and friends who get time with the people they love.”

Tufts Medical Center performed the hospital’s first heart transplant in 1985 and is now a leader in cardiac transplantation.  Since the year 2000, Tufts MC has performed the most adult heart transplants in New England and in 2023 we broke our own New England record with 61 adult heart transplants performed in a calendar year. “The success of our heart transplant program is a testament to our commitment to our patients, the incredible skill of our team as well as our relationships with cardiologists and heart failure specialists at centers throughout New England,” said David DeNofrio, MD, Director of Heart Failure Network Development at Tufts Medical Center. “We’re privileged to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and looking forward to providing this life-saving care for years to come.”

2012 Tufts Medical Center heart transplant recipient, Angelo Rinchiuso shared his experience: “While I was waiting for my heart, my goal was to stay alive for my daughter’s wedding, and I was able to walk 3 her down the aisle just 3 months after my transplant”, says Tufts Medical Center heart transplant recipient, Angelo Rinchiuso. “Twelve years later, I have 5 grandkids and I appreciate every single day. The care I received was outstanding and I’m thankful for the Tufts Medical Center team, my donor and my family.”

In October of 2025, Tufts Medical Center will celebrate 40 years as a leader in cardiac transplantation. We are committed to pursuing advances in research and technology for organ procurement,” said Indranee N. Rajapreyar, MD, Tufts Medical Center’s Medical Director, Cardiac Transplantation. “This includes heart transplant that uses a heart from a donor who has suffered a circulatory death (DCD), allowing more hearts to be donated and expanding access to this life-saving treatment.

According to the most recent United Network For Organ Sharing (UNOS) Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data, adult heart transplants nationwide increased by more than 11 percent in 2023, compared to 2022 data. With 4,039 total adult heart transplants across the country in 2023, the U.S. surpassed the 4,000 mark in a calendar year for the first time ever.

 

Learn about our cardiac transplant services
 

Press Releases
Tufts Medical Center Breaks Own New England Record With 61 Adult Heart Transplants in 2023
Eclipses 2016 milestone of 56 for the region’s most adult heart transplants at a single center, in a calendar year.
Patient Stories
An Unforgettable Heart
Albert Plummer received the first heart transplant at Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC), giving him 11 more years with his family doing the things he loved. He left a lasting legacy on the Tufts Medical Center CardioVascular Center.
Smiling daughter hugging senior mother in the living room of home.
Articles
Importance of Organ Donation
There are hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. on organ transplant wait lists. Read Tufts Medical Center's perspective on what you can do to help.

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