‘Domino’ Heart Patient Home
John Couch, one of two men involved in the nation’s first “domino donor” transplant, left Johns Hopkins Hospital today, 18 days after receiving a new heart.
“Now, this is the biggest difference in the world,” Couch said as he left the hospital for home with his wife, Peggy. “I was in really deteriorating health before. Now I am up and around and walking around.” Couch, 38, received a heart May 11 from Clinton House, a cystic fibrosis victim. House, 28, received a heart and lungs from a brain-dead auto accident victim. Doctors transplanted both the heart and lungs to House because lungs-only transplants have generally been less successful.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.