A 50-year-old man from Douglasville, recently became the 1,000th heart transplant patient at Emory University Hospital, making Emory Healthcare the first health care system in Georgia to reach this milestone, according to a press release. After a four-month stay at the hospital, Tyrone Baldwin left Emory University Hospital last month with a new heart and a new lease on life.
Baldwin received his new heart in May and left the hospital less than three weeks later.
“Mr. Baldwin’s ability to have a high quality of life following his heart transplant is excellent,” says Dr. Divya Gupta, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine. “This is a success story, but much work remains to be done in order to bridge the health disparities gap.” Gupta is the medical director of advanced heart failure and heart transplant at Emory Healthcare.
Gupta says heart failure disproportionately impacts African Americans more than others in the U.S. “A minority of African Americans who are eligible receive a heart transplant. We know there are many more out there who could use this lifesaving procedure. They need to know we are here for them.”
She notes that over the last few years, Emory has made significant progress in diversifying its transplant patient pool to benefit communities of color.
“In recent years, with about two-thirds of Emory’s heart transplant patients being minorities, our program has surpassed other programs of similar size,” says Gupta. “Our team has worked very hard to diminish many obstacles for our patients to receive and have successful heart transplants.”
In 2008, Emory University Hospital celebrated its 500th heart transplant, completing the first 500 transplants over a 23-year period since the program began in 1985. From 2008 to 2021, skilled heart transplant surgeons completed an additional 500 heart transplants, this time in just 13 years.
From July 2019 to June 2020, 72.3 percent of Emory heart transplant patients were African Americans, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. In addition, according to the Organ Procurement Transplant Network, from January 2017 through May 2021, Emory transplanted approximately 63 percent minorities with new hearts.
Many racial and ethnic minority populations have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and related risk factors, according to the American Heart Association.
As Baldwin continues his recovery, he and his family are grateful for his new heart and the donor family that chose to give so he could live.
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