Our Heart Transplant Experts at UPMC

Your Care Team

If you have a heart transplant at UPMC, you'll have a whole team of health care experts taking care of you.

Your care team may include:

• Transplant coordinator: handles activities related to organ donation.
• Transplant surgeon: performs your heart transplant.
• Heart transplant coordinator: provides care and education before and after your heart transplant.
• Ventricular assist device (VAD) coordinator: teaches you about and how to use the VAD.
• Social worker: meets with you after your heart transplant to discuss long-term coping strategies and adjustments.

Heart and Cardiothoracic (CT) Transplant Experts

UPMC's heart transplant doctors and CT transplant surgeon includes:

• Mary E. Keebler, MD — Medical Director, Advanced Heart Failure Center
• Michael A. Mathier, MD — Clinical Director, Heart and Vascular Institute
• Dennis M. McNamara, MD — Director, Heart Failure Research Center
• Gavin W. Hickey, MD — Medical Director, VAD Program
• Jonathan E. Holtz, MD — Cardiologist, Advanced Heart Failure Center
• Brittany A. Palmer, MD — Cardiologist, Advanced Heart Failure Center
• Manling Zhang, MD — Cardiologist, Advanced Heart Failure Center
• David James Kaczorowski, MD — CT Surgery Surgical Director, Heart Transplant/VAD Program

UPMC Transplant Coordinators

• Jenna Keeling, RN, MSN — Director of Heart-Lung Transplant
• Sandra Braden, RN, BSN
• Christgin Klavon, RN, CCRC
• Bruce Naylor, RN, BSN, CCRC
• Rachel O’Rorke, RN, BSN
• Katelyn Osborne, RN, BSN
• Frank Speicher, RN, CCRC
• Megan Wall, RN, BSN
• Lindsay Watson, RN, CCRC
• Meghan Witwer, RN, BSN, CCTC

Contact the UPMC Heart Transplant Program

To contact the UPMC Heart Transplant Program, call 412-648-6202 or toll-free at 844-548-4591. You can also fill out the UPMC Heart Transplant Program contact form to make an appointment or refer a patient.