The UCSF Heart Transplant Program has performed more than 250 transplants since its first transplant in March 1989.
Heart failure affects nearly 5 million Americans and causes or contributes to as many as a quarter of a million deaths each year. It is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle weakens and gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body. Because more people are surviving heart attacks but being left with weakened hearts, heart failure is the only major cardiovascular disorder on the rise. Between 400,000 to 700,000 new cases are reported every year.
Heart transplants are the most advanced treatment for end-stage heart disease — the final phase of heart disease when there is no effective treatment remaining.
The survival rate for patients receiving heart transplants at UCSF is excellent. According to the most recent data compiled by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, the one-year survival rate for UCSF patients is 85.33 percent and the three year survival rate is 94.59 percent, statistically higher than the national average or "expected" rate of 81.92 percent.
You'll need a referral from your primary care provider or specialist to make an appointment. Once you have the referral, please call the number below.
Heart Transplant Program
400 Parnassus Ave., Sixth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
Phone: (415) 353-4145
Fax: (415) 353-4166
Hours: Thursday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (exact times vary depending on the number of doctors in clinic)
For your first appointment, please arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time.
Follow the directions, which will be mailed to you, to obtain an EKG.
You will be seen by a transplant cardiologist, transplant nurse coordinator and possibly a transplant social worker.
Your evaluation may take one to three hours.
Last updated May 17, 2012
To make an appointment, you'll need a referral from your doctor.
We ask that your doctor call the UCSF Heart and Lung Transplant Program at (415) 353- 4145 and provide your medical history as well as physical examination and test results.
The following information will be reviewed by the medical director of the program.
For women, we request that you complete a gynecological exam with pap smear within the past year as part of an overall health assessment. If you're over age 40, we also ask that you have a mammogram within the past year.
For men over age 40, we ask that you undergo a prostate-specific antigent (PSA) test as part of the overall health assessment.
If appropriate, an appointment will be scheduled for an evaluation with the heart transplant team.
The team includes a transplant surgeon, cardiologist, clinical social worker, transplant nurse coordinator and a physical therapist. The team reviews your medical history, test results and recommendations by your doctors.
If you're identified as a potential heart transplant candidate, you'll be further evaluated during the next several weeks.
You and the doctor who referred you to UCSF will receive a written summary of your evaluation and the process to select heart transplant candidates.
Public parking for an hourly fee at UCSF Medical Center is available in the seven-level Millberry Union Garage at 500 Parnassus Ave. There are two garage entrances — one on the north side of Parnassus Avenue and another on Irving Street, just east of Third Avenue. The garage is open 24 hours daily.
Another garage with an hourly fee, at 350 Parnassus Ave., is open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Metered street parking is rarely available.
Patients being admitted to the hospital may be dropped off at the circular driveway leading to the main entrance at 505 Parnassus Ave. This area also may be used to pick up patients who are being discharged.
For more information about parking at Parnassus, call Campus Parking Services at 476-2566.
Valet parking service is available at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) at 400 Parnassus Ave. from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The valet service is free. Patients pay regular parking fees — $3 an hour, with a maximum fee of $24 for up to 24 hours. For more information about the valet service, call (415) 476-6200.
A UCSF "greeter" also is available at the ACC from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist patients find their way.
UCSF Medical Center is accessible via Muni streetcar line N-Judah*, which stops at Second Avenue and Irving Street, and the following Muni bus lines, which stop in front of the hospital:
For more information about Muni visit, www.sfmuni.com.
* Wheelchair accessible bus routes
