LOS ANGELES : Recipient of Twice-Used Heart Leaves Hospital
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San Pedro longshoreman John Ferrandino was discharged from UCLA Medical Center on Thursday after a rare procedure in which he received a heart that had been transplanted once before.
Doctors say that Ferrandino, 42, was close to death when he received the new heart June 20. It had originally belonged to a 20-year-old woman who died after a car accident. It first was given to a man in his 40s, who suffered a brain hemorrhage and died 11 days later.
On Thursday, Ferrandino expressed his gratitude to the earlier donors. “I get a second chance at life, and I feel it’s wonderful. The donors--I love them,” he said.
UCLA heart specialists say they know of only two other such cases, one in Switzerland and one in Germany.
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