PATIENT STORY :
THE BEAT GOES ON FOR HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT DAMION JONES
HEART
ORGANS – HEART
OVERVIEW UAB Medicine has maintained an active cardiac transplantation program since 1980 , and we have performed some 1,180 heart , heart / lung , and heart / kidney transplants since that time . Our diverse team of specialists is equally committed to treating heart failure through optimizing medical management and expanding the role of mechanical circulatory support devices . When a transplant is needed , our outcomes are excellent ; UAB ’ s one-year and three-year patient and graft survival rates are better than the expected rates and U . S . averages . Patients can expect a wide range of support and educational services designed to ease concerns and promote more successful outcomes .
EXCELLENCE IN THREE-YEAR PATIENT AND GRAFT SURVIVAL ( 2022 )
PATIENT STORY :
THE BEAT GOES ON FOR HEART TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT DAMION JONES
Damion Jones , 31 , was at work when he felt the pain in his stomach . He knew that something wasn ’ t right , but neither he nor his employer ’ s onsite clinic could pinpoint what was wrong . Next came shortness of breath . “ I couldn ’ t walk up the hill at work without getting winded ,” Jones said . “ And I couldn ’ t get rid of my cough .”
So began the odyssey that eventually brought Jones
Damion Jones to UAB ’ s Comprehensive
Transplant Institute ( CTI ). When Jones went to his doctor , he was told that his gallbladder was the culprit . But after gallbladder surgery , Jones didn ’ t bounce back . He was still plagued by a cough and just didn ’ t feel like himself . On a Sunday morning in early 2023 , Jones awoke coughing up blood . He and his wife , Shemika , headed to their regional hospital , where doctors found multiple blood clots in his lungs and identified the underlying cause : heart failure . An ambulance brought Jones to UAB ’ s doorstep .
José Tallaj , M . D ., a cardiologist with the UAB CTI , said that Jones ’ winding journey to UAB is understandable , given the rarity of heart failure at his age . “ As young , active patients get sick , they may not know that they ’ re developing heart failure ,” Dr . Tallaj said . “ By the time they come to us , they are very ill .”
26 UAB CTI Report