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Tufts Medical Center’s Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant team performed the hospital’s in October 2024, a year before the transplant program marks its 40th anniversary. The medical center in Boston had performed its first heart transplant in October 1985.

In 2024, the hospital completed 70 adult heart transplants, the most in the New England region. “The volume alone is impressive, but what we’re most proud of are the outcomes, which truly reflect the exceptional collaboration and expertise of our entire team,” said Sharon Klarman, executive director of solid organ transplant at Tufts Medicine.

The team at Tufts Medical Center attributes its “top-notch transplant program” to building strong relationships with major care centers and physicians who refer patients for transplants, as well as to using new technology that “keeps hearts alive longer, allowing them to come from further away.”

In addition, the medical team stays connected with patients who receive transplants long after they leave the hospital. Part of keeping connected involves collaborating closely with local providers “to ensure seamless communication, ongoing monitoring and comprehensive support.”

Sam Hiscoe, a resident of Maine, received a new heart during transplant surgery at Tufts Medical Center in June 2024. He said the health care team “became family to us,” adding that “the nurses, nurse practitioners, the doctors, anybody that was on the floor the entire day — I still go see them. I still check in with them.”

“It’s all about the patient, and our team is here for every patient,” observed Linda Ordway, R.N., clinical lead nurse practitioner advanced heart failure. “Keeping the patient as the focus is one of the things we do incredibly well.”