Lutheran Hospital shutting down heart transplants, inpatient burn units

Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, one of only three Indiana hospitals to perform organ transplants, is closing its heart transplant and inpatient burn services, citing low volumes.

The move marks the end of Lutheran Hospital’s transplant program. It had stopped performing kidney transplants several years ago. Lutheran Hospital had been providing organ transplants since at least the 1980s, according to data from the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network.

Lutheran Hospital made the announcement Friday, a decision that will force patients in the Fort Wayne area to travel to Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland or other markets to get a heart transplant.

The other two Indiana hospitals that offer organ transplants are Indiana University Health’s Methodist Hospital downtown and Ascension St. Vincent Indianapolis on West 86^th Street.

Only 10 patients received a heart transplant at Lutheran Hospital last year, and only one heart transplant has been performed to date this year. That’s down from a high point of 41 transplants in 2015, according to the organ network, a public-private partnership that links all professionals involved in the U.S. donation and transplantation system.

By comparison, Methodist Hospital performed 459 organ transplants last year, while Ascension St. Vincent Hospital performed 112 organ transplants.

“Our long-term strategy is focused on services that patients are using most,” Lutheran Hospital CEO Clyde Wood said.

Organ transplant programs depend on high volumes to offset the huge, fixed costs of staffing and equipping a transplant center, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.  Across the country, nearly 400 hospitals and independent transplant centers compete aggressively for business in one of the most prestigious and high-revenue fields of medicine.

Organ transplants are big business. A hospital bill for a liver transplant can cost more than $700,000, and a heart transplant can cost more than $1 million.

Lutheran Hospital said it will assist patients who are on the waiting list for a new heart to transfer their care to a nearby transplant center.

Effective June 2, Lutheran Hospital will stop accepting new patients in its inpatient burn unit. Patients currently receiving care will be evaluated and transferred to another burn center. Emergency burn care will continue.

Last year, 88 patients received burn care in the hospital’s inpatient burn unit, which was a 20% decrease from 2021. More than 75% of the burn patients came from outside Allen County.

“We are grateful for the physicians and staff who made offering these services possible,” Wood said, “and the patients who put their trust in our teams.”

Lutheran Hospital is owned by Community Health Systems, a Fortune 500 company based in Franklin, Tennessee. It is not affiliated with Indianapolis-based Community Health Network.