Outcome of shared care for pediatric cardiac transplantation between two nations with different health care systems

Background No data are available for the outcome of children undergoing cardiac transplantation with shared care programs in different countries. We sought to investigate the outcome of a shared care transplant program between 2 countries given the complex immunologic, cardiac, and psychologic needs of these young people. Methods We investigated the results of a shared care program for children who underwent cardiac transplantation between our center in the Republic of Ireland and 2 centers in the United Kingdom over 2 decades. Results Between 1990 and 2013, 22 patients underwent 23 cardiac transplants. The median age at transplant was 3.2 years (range, 0.3–13.3 years), median age at listing was 30 months (range, 0.1–13.3 years), and the median waiting list time was 2.8 months (range, 0.3–14 months). The median time to return to the referral center from the time of transplant was 3 weeks (range, 2–8 weeks). The referral center treated 4 of 5 late rejection episodes. Angiography was undertaken in the transplant center at annual or biannual review. Outcomes for rejection, coronary vasculopathy, and survival were comparable between the referral and transplant centers. Conclusions This report of shared care for pediatric transplant patients between 2 sovereign nations demonstrates good results, with comparable outcomes to the specialist transplant center. These data may encourage liberalization of follow-up in other centers.