Transplant Test

Reported August 2010

CHICAGO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's a last resort for heart failure patients but those lucky enough to receive a heart transplant aren't in the clear. After surgery, doctors have to monitor the patient weekly to make sure they don't reject their new organ. That means dozens of invasive procedures. The road to recovery just got a little easier.

Scott Dowell and his wife have enough fishing stories to fill a book.

"My biggest catch was about two weeks ago," Scott Dowell told Ivanhoe. "I caught a 29 ½ pound blue champion.”

His pictures are proof.

"Even if I'm not catching fish, just being able to be outdoors, something I couldn't do. I'm not bed-ridden anymore,” Scott said.

Scott was bed-ridden from three heart attacks and congestive heart failure. He was too weak to even cast a line. His options were heart transplant or death. Scott's transplant was a success, but the work to prevent rejection is just beginning.

"As long as they have the transplant, you always have to be monitoring them for rejection,” William Cotts, M.D., Medical Director at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL, explained.

According to Dr. Cott, an expert in heart failure, traditionally that means up to 15 heart biopsies a year.

"You numb the neck or groin and take what's called a biotone, which is a long piece of metal with little snippers at the end, which snips these pieces out,” Dr. Cotts explained.

"So when you're starting to get scar tissue built up, it hurts more and you're wide awake when they're doing it,” Scott recalled.

Thanks to a new test, the process is now as simple as donating blood.

"I take a lab test tube of blood and it takes about two minutes," Scott said.

It's called Allomap. It measures 11 genes in the white blood cells.

"There are genes that separate people who are rejecting and people who are not," Dr. Cotts said.

The test tells doctors who needs more anti-rejection meds and who's doing well. In a study published in the New England Journal of medicine, the non-invasive test predicted rejection as well as biopsy.

"It's a lot easier on him,” Dr. Cotts said.

In appreciation, Scott created a permanent thank you to his doctors.

"They're all my heroes,” Scott exclaimed.

The people who helped him get back to his favorite place.

"I could sit out here all day and enjoy it,” Scott said.

Dr. Cotts says the gene test won't eliminate biopsies completely, but could result in significantly fewer biopsies for transplant patients. The one-year survival rate for heart transplant patients is 88 percent. It drops to 73 percent after five years.

The Biophysical Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

William Cotts, MD
Expert in Heart Failure
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 695-4965

Ellen Weiss
Director of Policy & Communications
Biophysical Society
(240) 290-5606
eweiss@biophysics.org

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