Heart Failure and Heart and Lung Transplantation
If your child has irreparable heart or lung disease, organ transplantation offers great promise. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia heart-lung transplant program is one of largest in the world and draws upon the collaboration of a closely-knit healthcare team.
Under the leadership of Thomas Spray, MD, an internationally recognized pioneer in thoracic organ transplantation and congenital heart surgery, our program is known both for its excellence and for its comprehensive approach to care. We have performed:
- More than 161 heart transplants
- More than 56 lung transplants
- More than 23 heart-lung transplants
If your child is referred to us, we will evaluate him or her and meet with your family before your child is placed on the transplant list. Our goal is first to investigate other treatment options that could improve your child's health and quality of life. We explore medical therapies and other types of surgeries that may eliminate the need for transplantation.
Heart failure, pulmonary hypertension treatments
Among the services available to you and your child before considering transplantation:
- Therapy for mild, moderate and severe heart failure, including new agents for children such as carvedilol (Coreg)
- Diagnosis and management of primary diseases of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathies), including metabolic evaluation for mitochondrial disorders and inborn errors of metabolism
- Pulmonary vasodilator therapy for pulmonary hypertension, including new agents such as bosentan (Tracleer) and sildenafil (Viagra)
- Diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization
- Aggressive anti-inflammatory therapy for myocarditis
- Conventional corrective surgery for structural congenital heart disease
Evaluations and referrals
If heart transplantation is being considered, please request an evaluation at Children's Hospital as early as possible by calling 1-877-77-HEART or sending us an e-mail at cardiac@email.chop.edu. If you are a physician and would like to refer a patient, please call 215-590-6051 or send an e-mail to Beth Kaufman, MD, Interim Medical Director, Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Programs, or to the Nurse Practitioner, Karen McCandless.
If lung or heart/lung transplantation is being considered, please request an evaluation at Children's Hospital as early as possible by calling Tara Chestnut at 267-426-0664 or sending us an e-mail at lungtransplant@email.chop.edu. If you are a physician and would like to refer a patient, please call 215-590-0388 or send an e-mail to Samuel Goldfarb, MD, Medical Director, Lung and Heart/Lung Transplant Programs.
Our transplant team
Meet our organ transplant team:
Director, Thoracic Organ Transplantation
Division Chief, Cardiology
Interim Medical Director, Heart Transplant, Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure Program
Medical Director, Lung and Heart/Lung Transplant
Associate Medical Director, Pediatric Lung Transplantation
Medical Director, Pulmonary Hypertension Program
Transplant surgeons
Transplant cardiologists
Transplant nurse practitioners
- Karen V. McCandless, CRNP, BSN, MSN
- Laura Orfanelli, PNP
Program coordinator
- Stacy Leonard
Pediatric psychologist
Social workers
- Charisse Rhone, MSS
- Debby McGrath, MSW
Physical therapy, exercise physiology, and rehabilitation
- Michael G. McBride, PhD
- David Piccinni, DPT, MPT
Clinical coordinators
- Shelly Beitler, RN
- Michael Donahue, CRNP
Child Life specialists
- Kelly Conlin
- Meredith McDonough, MS, CCLS
Administrative assistant
- Tara Chestnut
Financial counselor
- Yvette Allen
Contact Us
For more information on our services or to schedule an appointment.
- 215-590-4040
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