Hospital La Fe Performs Rare Heart Transplant on 70-Year-Old Patient
The successful surgery marks only the second time in Spain that an older patient with a mechanical heart has received a donor organ.
The Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe in Valencia has successfully performed a heart transplant on a 70-year-old man who previously relied on a mechanical ventricular assist device due to severe heart failure. This complex medical milestone marks only the second time in Spain that a patient of this advanced age with a mechanical circulatory support device has successfully received a heart transplant, following a previous case in 2021 at the University Hospital of Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín involving a 76-year-old patient.
The patient initially arrived at the cardiology department from Torrevieja in 2024 suffering from advanced heart failure. At the time of his admission, doctors determined that a direct heart transplant was not advisable as a primary option due to his age, alongside concurrent issues with obesity and kidney failure. To address his failing heart, specialists decided to implant a left ventricular assist device, a medical technology designed to help pump blood when the heart can no longer do so effectively on its own.
After a year and a half of living with the mechanical support, the patient developed an infectious complication. Medical specialists at La Fe reevaluated his condition and concluded that a heart transplant had become the best therapeutic alternative. In October 2025, the cardiovascular surgery and cardiology teams successfully removed the ventricular device and carried out the heart transplant procedure.
Medical personnel have reported that the patient is currently recovering well. Salvador Torregrosa, coordinator of mechanical circulatory assistance at La Fe, noted that the patient is showing positive clinical progress with a properly functioning transplanted heart, is free of symptoms, and is following the standard immunosuppressive treatment to prevent organ rejection.
Discussing the implications of the surgery, Dr. Torregrosa and Francisco Valera, head of the cardiovascular surgery service, emphasized that advanced age is a factor that must be carefully evaluated, but it should not automatically disqualify patients from receiving a heart transplant. They stated that through strict and rigorous candidate selection, septuagenarian patients can achieve survival rates, functional recovery, and independence similar to those of younger individuals.
José Luis Poveda, manager of the Valencia South Interdepartmental Health Group and La Fe, praised the collaborative effort behind the medical achievement. The successful intervention and subsequent monitoring involved professionals from multiple departments, including cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, anesthesia, resuscitation, surgical block, intensive care, and traumatology, highlighting the comprehensive approach required for such complex procedures.