Heart Brothers: Two Heart Transplant Recipients Forge Unique Friendship | UC San Diego Health

Isaac Gonzalez, 19, and George Jimenez, 56, met at the Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center after their respective heart transplant surgeries. They quickly became a source of inspiration and support for each other. The UC San Diego Health heart transplant program is ranked #2 in the nation for one-year patient survival rates among programs with 100 to 120 heart transplants performed. More about our transplant survival rates: https://health.ucsd.edu/care/transplant-programs/ Led by Drs. Victor Pretorius and Eric Adler, our heart transplant program has grown to be the largest in San Diego and the third largest in California, placing it among the nation's top-performing transplant centers. In addition, our results exceed national standards for heart transplantation for people with irreversible, life-threatening heart disease. Learn more at: https://health.ucsd.edu/care/transplant-programs/heart In September 2020, UC San Diego Health became the first hospital on the West Coast to perform heart transplant surgery from a donor after circulatory death, or DCD, using a new portable organ care system. The successful surgery is part of a national interventional clinical trial that could increase organ donation by an estimated 20-30 percent, resulting in less waiting time for patients in need of a new heart. Read more: https://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2020-09-15-uc-san-diego-health-revives-non-beating-donor-heart-for-successful-tansplantation.aspx