Duke Medicine may have broken a Guinness World Record by hosting the largest gathering of heart transplant recipients ever Sunday.
The event—held to celebrate the more than 1,000 heart transplants conducted at Duke Medicine since the program began in 1985—was planned after the 1,000th transplant earlier this year. Nearly 200 transplant recipients, along with families, doctors and hospital staff gathered at the Washington Duke Inn for food and discussion.
“What you see here is really the fruits of an incredible amount of work by a really wonderful team,” said Dr. Joseph Rogers, a cardiologist and medical director of the Duke Cardiac Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program. “There’s no way you could attribute this to one person.”
The gathering may have set a record for the number of heart transplant recipients in one place at the same time, and representatives from Guinness World Records were on hand to verify the total attendance. The previous record was set in Michigan this year with 132 transplant recipients in attendance.
Duke’s heart transplant program began in 1985, but was a low-volume program until the mid-1990s, Rogers explained. Today, Duke Medicine is one of the largest centers for heart transplants in the country. Rogers said that 60 to 65 heart transplants are usually conducted at Duke every year.
“There were many more people that would benefit from transplant, and because of that we really began a much more aggressive approach at looking at people and trying to enlist them in transplant,” Rogers said.
Roger noted that many patients were able to live normal lives after receiving a transplant—a result of Duke Medicine's heart transplant program. He also pointed out a man who had returned to playing tennis on a regular basis after receiving a new heart.
“The funny part about this is that every one of these people has an interesting story,” Rogers said. “Some of them are sort of funny, some of them are religious, some of them are very family-oriented, but there is a story behind all 1,000 people."
Tommy Humphries, a Roxboro resident, said that a heart transplant at Duke had saved him from an infection that caused heart failure.
“When I got here on the first of September, within two or three days they said I would probably need a heart transplant,” Humphries explained. “It was a long ordeal, but Duke Hospital was great.”
Humphries said his life is mostly the same now as it was before his heart failed. He goes to work, plays golf and volunteers at Duke Hospital. Humphries added that the heart transplant has allowed him to be present at important family moments that he otherwise would have missed.
“I’ve had three grandchildren since I’ve had my transplant,” Humphries said. “I’ve become a granddaddy in the seven years since I got the heart.”
Johnny Fogleman, another heart transplant recipient, also expressed his gratitude toward Duke Medicine.
“They are all super nice, doctors, nurses, everything. You couldn’t find anyone better than at Duke,” Fogleman said. “And I’m not a Duke fan either. I’m a Carolina man.”
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