Who Needs Transplantation?

General Criteria

Transplantation is provided as an option only after all other medical and surgical therapies that might be expected to yield both short and long-term survival, have been considered or exhausted. The patient selection criteria for transplantation is based upon:

• A critical medical need for transplantation
• Maximum likelihood of a successful clinical outcome

The patients considered for transplantation must have a poor prognosis, but must have no other end stage organ failure. Moreover, both a complete physical and psycho-social evaluation is conducted to ascertain the patient and caregiver’s ability for long-term adherence to a disciplined medical regimen, which is feasible and realistic for the individual patient.

• Who needs transplantation?
• Referral for care
• Evaluation
• After acceptance
• After discharge
• Support Organizations

Criteria for Cardiac Transplant

The criteria for selecting cardiac transplant candidates includes infants, children, and adolescents with:

1. Cardiomyopathy that is unresponsive to medical therapy in the cases of:
   • Viral
   • Ischemic
   • Familial
   • Idiopathic
   • Metabolic
   • Hypertrophic
   • Drug induced
2. Severe congenital cardiac malformation (palliated or unoperated), with a failing myocardium
3. Graft failure following previous transplantation