The first heart/double lung transplant at Columbus Childrens Hospital occurred Saturday, December 24, 2005, when 22-year-old Sandy Shreck received a heart and lungs provided by an out-of-state donor.
Born with complex congenital heart disease, Shreck was referred in 2002 to Curt Daniels, MD, of the Columbus Childrens Heart Center and a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. Daniels is director of the Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at Childrens and The Ohio State University Medical Center. This highly-specialized program was created to meet the medical and surgical needs of adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease, providing comprehensive care for this unique and complex patient population.
Born in 1983, Shreck underwent her first heart surgery shortly after birth, followed by additional surgical procedures in 1989 and 2005. She was admitted to Columbus Childrens last November 29, where it became evident that her congenital heart disease had progressed and led to worsening congestive heart failure. All medical treatment options had been exhausted and transplantation was the only option left to her. She was placed on the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant list December 12 and was notified the evening of December 23 that donated organs had become available to her.
Mark Galantowicz, MD, co-director of the Columbus Childrens Heart Center and surgical director of the Lung, Heart and Heart-Lung Transplant Programs at Columbus Childrens, led the transplant surgical team. Todd Astor, MD, a transplant pulmonologist and medical director of the Childrens Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Programs, is directing Shrecks post-surgical care. Both physicians are faculty members of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health.
Shreck and her boyfriend, Keary Miller, reside in Lancaster, Ohio, with Shrecks nearly-three-year-old son, Payton Harris. Discharged February 8 from the hospital, she is staying with her son at the Ronald McDonald House on the campus of Childrens Hospital, after which she will be cared for by relatives in her hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio, during her recovery. Shreck credits her son with being her inspiration to undergo the surgery and work hard to recover so that she can be there for him as he grows up. She wants to share her story so that others will recognize the importance of the incredible gift of organ donation.
The comprehensive Transplant Program at Columbus Childrens is comprised of lung, heart, heart-lung, kidney and blood and marrow transplant services.
Young Woman Undergoes First Heart/Double Lung Transplant at Columbus Children's Hospital
February 14, 2006
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.