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UCSF Heart Transplant Program Named Center of Excellence

March 28, 2006
Contact: News Services (415) 476-2557

The UCSF Heart and Vascular Center has been designated a center of excellence in heart transplants by Blue Cross and Blue Shield, both of California. The designations -- Blue Shield in January and Blue Cross in February -- were issued after a review of UCSF's heart transplant results and its performance against industry benchmarks.

For Blue Cross, UCSF is one of three centers of excellence in Northern California and one of eight statewide. As a center of excellence, UCSF may perform heart transplant surgery and provide post-transplant care to Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plan members with heart failure.

In the 2005 calendar year, UCSF Medical Center transplanted 21 hearts. The heart transplant team includes Dr. Charles Hoopes, director of the Heart and Lung Transplant Program; Dr. J. Donald Hill, heart transplant and ventricular assist device surgeon; Dr, Teresa DeMarco, medical director of Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation and Pulmonary Hypertension; Dr. Dana McGlothlin, transplant cardiologist specializing in echocardiography; Dr.Eduardo Rame, transplant cardiologist; and a team of anesthesiologists, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians and support staff available around the clock.

UCSF surgeons, cardiologists, and researchers have contributed to groundbreaking developments in treating life-threatening heart disease. More information on heart transplants is available at www.ucsfhealth.org/hearttransplant