Paediatric heart transplants--should we do them?
Heart transplantation continues to evoke considerable controversy. While they are performed in adults, in South Africa children are at present denied this therapeutic option despite a very encouraging global/average 5-year survival rate of 62%. Objections to transplantation are usually based on moral and economic imperatives. These arguments will be analysed and we will present the case for the introduction of a transplant programme designed to benefit children with incurable heart disease.
Hugo-Hamman
C T
CT
Department of Paediatrics, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital.
Vosloo
S M
SM
De Moor
M M
MM
Odell
J A
JA
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018579:Patient Selection; D040841:Resource Allocation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013019:South Africa; D026712:Value of Life