The Heart Transplant Program at UHN is part of our comprehensive management of patients with advanced heart failure. We are a multidisciplinary team that includes cardiologists, anesthetists, cardiac surgeons, nurse practitioners, transplant nurse coordinators and transplant mentors dedicated to improving patient outcomes. We perform about 20 to 30 heart transplants a year.
We provide support and education throughout your heart transplant journey to help you and your family prepare for your surgery and recovery.
Your pre-transplant evaluation will consist of medical tests and interviews with members of your transplant team. We want to make sure you're healthy enough for your operation and that there's nothing else wrong with your other organs. Sometimes our assessment will find a problem that makes a transplant a poor option for you, or we find a problem that may need correcting before the operation.
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After your transplant surgery, you will be carefully monitored. We will monitor for rejection of the transplant using heart biopsies and heart ultrasounds, and we will use immune medications to prevent rejection. We will also monitor for infection, cancer and transplant heart artery disease.
Before you are discharged from the hospital, you will learn about your medications, your post-transplant care and what to watch for. You will also learn how to communicate with our team, and you will receive information about your first follow-up appointment. During your follow-up clinic visits, we will also review your medications and other important issues.
Social workers, psychiatrists and transplant mentors are also available to help you handle the natural stress associated with a heart transplant.
We work in partnership with your family doctor and referring cardiologist to make sure that you receive comprehensive care.
Tests & Services
How to Prepare
Your first appointment can take 2 hours or more. Usually, you will have your blood collected in the Heart Transplant Clinic before being seen. Follow-up appointments usually take 1 hour.
EasyCall is a telephone communication system used to communicate with your transplant team. Before you are discharged from the hospital, the transplant secretary will teach you how to access this system. You will receive a personal identification number and a password to use Easy Call. You will have access to Easy Call 24 hours a day, and our team will retrieve and return messages Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Learn more about
what you can expect when you have a clinic appointment.
