Why Choose Us

Why Choose Us

Established over 40 years ago, our heart transplantation program is the largest and most experienced program in the United States. We have completed over 3,000 transplants, far exceeding other hospitals across the country. Our doctors continuously pursue innovative treatment protocols, including treatment for high-risk and multi-organ (heart-lung, heart-liver, and heart-kidney) transplant populations.

Our Team

Our Team

The members of our heart transplant team have been contributing to the advancement of heart failure care and heart transplants for decades. Some of our achievements include:

  • The first successful pediatric heart transplant in 1984
  • Primary investigators for the first clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian to demonstrate the benefit of ventricular assist device technology for patients with end-stage heart failure (the REMATCH Trial)
  • One of the first heart transplant programs to offer an alternative list for older patients or those with multiple relative contraindications. The program matched patients with organs that might not otherwise be used and demonstrated excellent outcomes.
  • Leaders in the field of immunosuppression and methods to prevent or treat organ rejection
  • Leaders in the field for training one of the largest cohorts of transplant physicians and surgeons in the United States
  • Leaders in the field of LVAD technology as a bridge to transplant, including the largest center for enrollment of the Heartmate III trial
  • Major contributors to research on organ scarcity, socioeconomic disparity in transplant, and key policy changes to improve the equitable distribution of heart transplantation across the country
  • Leaders in multi-center and single-center clinical trials and basic science to improve the care and longevity of patients with end-stage heart failure
  • Dedicated center for research and clinical care in reversing the heart failure phenotype, with recovery and explanation of LVAD therapy on a case-by-case basis
Experts in LVAD technology

Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are implantable devices that provide mechanical support to patients whose hearts are too weak to pump blood effectively. A VAD can help stabilize or improve your conditions while you're waiting for a heart transplant, enabling you to live a productive life at home while waiting for a heart donor. For more than 25 years, NewYork-Presbyterian has been a pioneer in the field of mechanical support for people with advanced heart failure.

Our surgeons have played an integral role in the development of many groundbreaking devices and perform one to two VAD implantations each week — one of the largest volumes nationwide — with survival rates that exceed the national average. To overcome long waiting lists for donor organs and other limitations, we have spearheaded an international effort to develop VADs that provide mechanical support for failing hearts around the world. Learn more about our LVAD program.

Some people with end-stage heart failure can have extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) — a way to artificially oxygenate the blood — at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center while waiting for a heart transplant. Our ECMO Program has been designated a Platinum Level Center of Excellence for the Excellence in Life Support Award from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization, an international nonprofit consortium dedicated to the development of novel therapies for people with severe heart failure who require mechanical support.

Skilled in managing complex cases

We consistently and successfully treat patients with serious conditions, such as cardiac amyloidosis, diabetes-related end-stage organ damage, and HIV. We offer several treatment options to patients at NewYork-Presbyterian who elsewhere may be considered too severe or complex to treat. Patients with complex medical conditions or multiple relative contraindications for transplant may be best served with LVAD therapy such as "destination therapy.” In some circumstances, a patient's condition improves on LVAD therapy such that a high-risk transplant might be considered reasonable and ethically appropriate.

Meet our team

Our Approach to Care

Our Approach to Care
A team of specialists for every stage of treatment

Each patient receives care from a multidisciplinary team that specializes in transplant care. Your team includes a dedicated transplant coordinator, transplant surgeons, and cardiologists, critical care specialists, nurses and nurse practitioners, pharmacists, psychiatrists, nutritionists, physical therapists, social workers, and financial counselors. Our goal is to help you achieve long-term survival with the highest quality of life possible.

We’ll partner closely with you and your referring physicians to achieve a seamless continuum of care while helping you navigate any emotional, financial, and logistical concerns. Our specialists are here for you through the transplant process and beyond.

Two renowned centers for heart care

While we offer transplant surgery and long-term follow up care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, comprehensive outpatient heart failure care —including evaluation for heart transplantation candidacy —may also be performed at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. At NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care is our comprehensive heart failure center and the gateway to heart transplant evaluation. At NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Perkin Center for Heart Failure and the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute provide comprehensive heart failure management and transplant evaluation. Patients who need urgent transplant evaluation will be treated at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, as urgent transplant surgery may be required.

Pediatric heart transplant program

NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital has one of the largest pediatric heart transplant programs in the United States. Our surgeons typically perform more than 25 transplants for pediatric and adult congenital heart disease each year — more than any other hospital in the country. We have also successfully pioneered transplantations in high-risk patients who are not offered heart transplants elsewhere.

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Receive heart transplantation at NewYork-Presbyterian—reach out to us today.