A national report by NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT) on mechanical circulatory support (MCS), used in patients in the UK as a bridge to heart transplantation, has highlighted three major achievements at Royal Papworth Hospital.
Some patients can wait years for a heart transplant and, during this time, they may require a mechanical blood pump, called an implantable LVAD (left ventricular assist device).
Known as ‘bridging’ to transplant, LVADs help failing hearts to keep blood pumping around the body while the patient waits for a suitable organ to become available.
The NHSBT report shows that:
- Since April 2019, 41% of our patients who had an implantable LVAD went on to receive a successful heart transplant. That is the highest national rate and more than double of any other transplant centre.
- Of those patients who had not been transplanted with a new heart, but who continue to be supported with an LVAD, we recorded a 100% survival rate at three years.
- Our overall survival rate at three years post-LVAD implant is 92.2% - the best in the country.
Dr Stephen Pettit, clinical lead for transplant at Royal Papworth Hospital, said: “We are immensely proud of the data in this report.
"This national report suggests we are supporting the right patient at the right time.
"Our retrieval teams works tirelessly throughout the UK to make transplants happen, and back at the hospital our whole team does everything possible to get our LVAD patients through to a heart transplant.
“There are many people involved in achieving these outstanding results.
"Each and every one of them does an excellent job - from handling referrals, assessments, getting through their procedure and all the long-term care. Our implantable MCS programme has come a long way in the last five years.”