Philadelphia is a city of firsts. The city’s first heart transplant came 42 years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sixty-year-old Earl Jones was born with a congenital heart defect. By age 30, he was in congestive heart failure and needed a heart transplant.<\/p>\n
“It was just a snowball that turned into an avalanche,” Jones said.<\/p>\n
Jones’ transplant was in March 2002 at Temple University Hospital, where decades earlier, the hospital made headlines when it became the first in the city to perform a heart transplant<\/p>\n
“I used to think I was the unluckiest person in the world, but I no longer think that way. I’m the most blessed person in the world,” Jones said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Eman Hamad, director of Temple’s transplant program, said the hospital has done close to 1,400 heart transplants since then, including some dual transplants, such as heart-lung and heart-kidney transplants.<\/p>\n
“We’re proud to continue that legacy in the world of heart transplants,” Hamad said. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Doctors say that since the early days of heart transplants, the operation has been refined and improved with better outcomes.<\/p>\n
Jones said his operation was a success. His heart transplant was never expected to last this long.<\/p>\n
“They said on average, life expectancy post-heart transplant is eight years,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Filled with gratitude, Jones is now a volunteer for the Gift of Life Donor Program, supporting other transplant families.<\/p>\n
“Nobody’s living a better life than I’m living,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are now about 3,700 heart transplants a year nationally, and doctors say survival rates have improved dramatically.<\/p>\n
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