Heart Transplant
If you have heart failure, and other heart failure treatments no longer work, it may be time to consider a heart transplant evaluation.
UNC Medical Center is one of the state’s top hospitals for heart transplants. Since 1986, we have helped hundreds of people live a better quality of life. Our program consistently meets one-year and three-year survival rates, monitored by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).
We ensure you feel comfortable, informed and prepared for transplant surgery and recovery. After you leave the hospital, we offer programs to help you transition from transplant back to your routine.
Heart Transplants at UNC Medical Center: Why Choose Us?
Our highly regarded heart transplant team provides skilled, personalized care, embracing you and your family like one of our own.
We offer:
- Dedicated team of experts: You are never alone on this journey. Your patient care team, including dedicated transplant coordinators, is with you through each step of the process. After the transplant, we provide ongoing follow-up care. This approach helps us detect problems before they become serious.
- Expertise and results: Performing hundreds of lifesaving heart transplants has given us the experience and skills to offer you the best care. Learn more about getting a heart transplant.
- Multiple-organ transplants: If you have other organs that are not functioning as they should, we perform multiple-organ transplants. Our expert team of surgeons can transplant a donor heart along with a liver, lung or kidney.
- Nationally recognized care for heart failure: Your transplant team works closely with heart failure specialists to manage heart health before and after a transplant. You receive expert care at UNC Medical Center, one of the nation’s best hospitals for heart failure care.
- Accredited heart support care: To help your weakening heart pump blood, we offer the latest left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Our LVAD center was the first in the state to earn Joint Commission certification in 2010. This designation reflects our commitment to providing the highest-quality care and the latest heart support devices.
Heart Transplant Services
We offer comprehensive services for people who need a heart transplant, including:
- The latest LVADs for heart therapies
- Clinical trials that enable you to try new therapies
- Dedicated cardiothoracic operating rooms that are equipped for heart transplant and LVAD surgeries
- Intensive care units staffed by nurses who have specialized training in caring for heart transplant recipients
- Heart failure and transplant care services at UNC Hospitals Jason Ray Transplant Clinic at UNC Medical Center and UNC Cardiology at Eastowne
- Certified cardiac rehabilitation program to help you regain stamina and strength after a transplant
Pediatric Heart Transplants
Our expert pediatric team performs heart transplants on babies and children. We realize that facing a heart transplant for your child can feel overwhelming. We are here to guide you and your family through every step.
When needed, we use heart support devices, such as LVADs, to support your child’s weakening heart until a donor heart is available. When the time is right, we help your child make a seamless transition into our adult heart transplant program. Learn more about pediatric transplants.
Contact Us
Call the Heart & Vascular Center referral line at 984-974-2900 to find specialists, make an appointment or learn more about preventing heart disease.
Call 984-974-2900 to find out more about heart transplants at UNC Hospitals. Learn more about receiving a heart transplant by reading our Heart Transplant Patient Handbook [PDF], .Heart Transplant Patient Handbook Spanish [PDF]
