Episode 3: Formation of the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society

Now called the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society (PHTS), the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study Registry was established in 1993 by a group of physicians who wanted to improve the lives of children who needed a heart transplant. The Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) was started by Dr. James Kirklin (cardiac surgeon), Dr. David Naftel (statistician), and Dr. Robert Morrow (pediatric cardiologist) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1993. With more than 25 years of data collection, PHTS has produced over 120 abstract presentations and over 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts analyzing the continuum from pre-transplant risk factors to post-transplant morbidities which impact long-term survival after heart transplant in childhood. 
Dr. James K. Kirklin is a professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and currently holds the James K. Kirklin Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He received the ISHLT Lifetime achievement award 2020 support, for his contribution in heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.
Dr. Daphne Hsu, is one of the nation's leading experts in children's heart failure and heart transplant. She has been the past president and board member of the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study  and she also reviews pediatric cardiology-related grants for the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.