MD Brothers Receive Heart Transplants

December 31, 2004

Frederick, MD

(AP)

Ana Retana's worst fears became a reality when her 9-year-old son, Carlos Aguero, was diagnosed with the same heart condition that killed two of his siblings and afflicted another brother.

Carlos and his 14-year-old brother, Marco, suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy, an illness that weakens the muscles of the heart. Of Retana's six children, two have died from the condition, two have had heart transplants and two have been screened and are healthy.

Carlos and his older brother, Marco, are the two have now had successful heart transplants. They are in good condition at their home in Frederick, Maryland. Marco got his new heart in March and Carlos received his November 29th.

After the loss of two of her children, Retana decided to leave her native Costa Rica and move with her remaining children to Frederick, near Washington.

Within a few months of moving to the area, she was frequenting Children's National Medical Center in Washington with her ailing sons.

Doctors at Children's National gave Marco and Carlos medications and inserted defibrillators to prolong the use of the own hearts. Sometimes doctors try to extend the use of patients' own hearts as long as possible, because transplants present a risk of infection and the possibility that the body will reject the new organ.

Marco and Carlos received the organs in time to save their lives. Carlos got his new heart within two weeks of being placed on the transplant list. Marco received his within three months.

According to the United Network For Organ Sharing, which coordinates and matches donor organs with recipients, the median wait time in 2001-2002 was about 63 days for a child Carlos' age and 74 days for a child Marco's age.

Currently there are 254 children nationwide under the age of 18 on the heart transplant list.

The one-year mark is a major milestone in the transplantation process. If someone has survived for a year after the transplant without the body rejecting the foreign organ, the chance for survival has increased dramatically, although risks continue to exist.

Once a patient has a transplant, the only option if the body rejects the heart or if there are other serious complications is to have another transplant.

Copyright © 2004 CBS Worldwide Inc.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article posted January 22, 2005.