The Gregorio Marañón University Public Hospital successfully carried out the first partial heart transplant in Europe for a baby under one year old, according to the Community of Madrid. Mariami, for seven months, has been evolving favorably in the hospital system after leaving the intensive care unit, where the floor remained in recent days. Health Councilor Fátima Matute visited the Maternal and Child Health Center complex this year to celebrate this important health milestone. “This is a gigantic step that will revolutionize the world of transplants,” he said. According to him, this achievement was possible thanks to “the concern, the illusion and the perseverance of the professionals of the Cardiology department, a national reference in this field”.
The technique is approved by the Regional Office and the National Transplant Organization. It consists of implanting only part of this organ in children requiring valve replacement surgery, but without presenting a muscular failure requiring a complete intervention. Currently, these pediatric patients receive valve implants made with materials that do not grow with their bodies, requiring them to undergo multiple operations throughout their lives to replace them. Thanks to this innovative procedure, this is avoided as the patient grows. It is therefore not necessary to add personnel to the new operations.
This case of particular complexity required the combination of other techniques in which the Gregorio Marañón Public Hospital was also a pioneering center, in 2018 and 2021, which were carried out with incompatible blood groups between donor and recipient, as well as a donation in controlled asystole, which is a triple success.
With this advancement, children with birth defects in which the heart valves are not formed properly will benefit, leading to serious dysfunction. In Spain, around 4,000 children are born each year with this type of health problem.
More possibilities for patients
Besides the benefit of the implant growing, the technique will allow greater use of children’s heart donations, which are very limited. Knowing that children who need a full transplant will always be prioritized, this strategy opens up three new scenarios in which children can benefit from a partial transplant, depending on the valves required.
You can use the donated heart to extract valves if there is no full transplant recipient of a compatible size at that time. If the donor organ’s muscle is not working well, but its valves are working, these can be used. When a minor requires a complete procedure, but their own valves are functional, these in turn can also be used for partial transplants in other recipients.
The Matute town hall took the opportunity to highlight the altruism of Madrid residents. “We are very supportive of this donation,” he said before promoting generosity to save lives. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, praised health professionals on the social network X before expressing her pride for public health in Madrid.
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