Thymic Tolerance in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

Thymic Tolerance in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

The investigators hypothesize that injecting donor bone marrow cells into the recipient thymus gland at the time of heart transplantation in children will prove to be feasible and safe. They further hypothesize that recipients receiving donor bone marrow will experience less acute rejection events with reduced long-term requirements for immunosuppressive medications when compared to controls who do not receive marrow but who are managed under an identical immunosuppressive protocol.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Less than 21 years of age at listing
• Listed for primary orthotopic heart transplant at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, between 04/01/04 and 03/31/08

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of prior transplant
• Listed for multi-organ transplant
• Sensitized against human HLA tissue types
• Documentation of total thymomectomy during a prior surgery