Pediatric heart transplantation at adult‐specialty centers in the United States: A multicenter registry analysis

Recent Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network bylaw revisions mandate that US transplant programs have an “approved pediatric component” in order to perform heart transplantation (HT) in patients <18 years old. The impact of this change on adolescents, a group known to be at high risk for graft loss and nonadherence, is unknown. We studied all US primary pediatric (age <18 years) HT from 2000 to 2015 to compare graft survival between centers organized mainly for adult versus pediatric care. Centers were designated as pediatric‐ or adult‐specialty care according to the ratio of pediatric:adult HT performed and minimum age of HT (pediatric‐specialty defined as ratio>0.7; adult‐specialty ratio<0.05 and minimum age >8 years). In propensity score‐matched cohorts, we observed no difference in graft loss by center type (median survival: adult 12.4 years vs pediatric 9.2 years, P = .174). Compared to the matched pediatric cohort, adult‐specialty center recipients lived closer to their transplant center (31 vs 45 miles, P = .012), and trended toward fewer out‐of‐state transplants (15 vs 25%, P = .082). Our data suggest that select adolescents can achieve similar midterm graft survival at centers organized primarily for adult HT care. Regardless of post‐HT setting, the development of care models that demonstrably improve adherence may be of greatest benefit to improving survival of this high‐risk population.