Vanderbilt Heart Transplant Program

Vanderbilt University Medical Center performs more heart transplants than any other program in the Southeast, and our patient outcomes among the best in the nation. Our specialists also provide lifesaving heart-kidney, heart-liver and heart-lung transplants for patients with multiple organ failure.

Conditions We Treat

  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Congenital heart disease
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Graft failure (retransplant)
  • Valvular heart disease

Heart Transplant: Why Choose Vanderbilt

  • Recognized care: Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute is among the top 20 heart programs in the nation and the top-ranked program in Tennessee, according to U.S. News & World Report. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is ranked the No. 1 adult hospital in Tennessee.
  • Depth of experience: Since 1985, our surgeons have performed more than 1,000 heart transplants for children and adults. As the second-busiest program in the U.S., our vast experience means expert care for you. We even make heart transplant possible for patients turned away from other programs. For example, we are one of few programs in the U.S. to offer desensitization therapy, making it easier for patients with certain antibodies to find a compatible donor.
  • Excellent outcomes: Results for Vanderbilt heart transplant patients regularly exceed national standards.
  • Advanced treatment: We offer options for mechanical support options while you wait for a heart transplant, or sometimes instead of a transplant. For example, a ventricular assist device (VAD) allows you to live normally at home. As one of the first hospitals in the Southeast to offer VADs, we’ve implanted more than 500, including implanting the first total artificial heart in 2018. We were also among the first to provide extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for patients with severe conditions.
  • A team approach: Our heart surgeons and cardiologists work together to provide care that is personalized to you. They work with psychiatrists and psychologists, transplant pharmacists, nurses and social workers to provide you with quality care before, during and after your heart transplant.
  • Innovation: Our heart transplant teams helped pioneer the transplant of hearts from donors with hepatitis C. This greatly increases the number of healthy donor hearts available for waiting recipients. Our teams also were among the first to use ex vivo perfusion, keeping a heart beating while in transit from donor to recipient. This helps ensure the donor heart you receive is the healthiest it can be.
  • Access to clinical trials: As the only academic medical center in Middle Tennessee, we offer access to clinical trials studying new technologies and approaches to transplant care, before they are widely available elsewhere.
  • Care for veterans: We are one of only five transplant programs designated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide heart transplants to our nation’s veterans.
  • Care for adults with congenital heart disease: Now that more people with congenital heart disease are living well into adulthood, Vanderbilt provides them with special care through our Advanced Congenital Cardiac Therapies group. This team is a unique collaboration of adult congenital heart disease, heart failure, heart surgery and heart transplant specialists. They understand the complexity of heart transplants for people with congenital heart disease and can guide you through the process.  

Tests, Treatments and Services We Offer

  • Treatment of advanced heart failure
  • Heart transplant
  • Ventricular assist devices
  • Dual-organ transplant

Locations

Vanderbilt Heart Transplant
Medical Center East
1215 21st Ave. S., Suite 5209
Nashville, TN 37232
Maps and Directions

Vanderbilt Heart Transplant Cookeville
Cookeville Regional Medical Center
228 W. Fourth St., Suite 200
Cookeville, TN 38501
Maps and Directions

Vanderbilt Heart Transplant Knoxville
11440 Parkside Drive, Suite 205
Knoxville, TN 37924
Maps and Directions

Vanderbilt Heart Transplant Madison, AL
460 Lanier Road, Suite 202A
Madison, AL 35758
Maps and Directions

Supportive Care

Heart Transplant Patient & Caregiver Support Group
First Tuesday of every month
2-3 p.m. Village at Vanderbilt
1500 21st Ave. S, Suite 3100
Nashville, TN 37232

For Referring Physicians

To refer a patient for a heart transplant or consultation, complete our online referral form or call (615) 936-3500.

Referring physicians also can complete our heart transplant referral form and fax it to (615) 936-3829.