Local News in Brief : Orange : Heart Recipient Listed as Critical but Stable

The 45-year-old Anaheim man who became the county’s third heart transplant recipient was listed in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at UCI Medical Center in Orange, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday.

Elaine Beno said Gene Reynolds, who received the heart of a 21-year-old Carlsbad man killed in a traffic accident, has been transferred from a recovery room to the hospital’s intensive care unit. She said Reynolds, a manager of customer services for Pacific Bell, also had a breathing tube removed Wednesday.

“He’s doing really great, no complications at all,” Beno said.

Reynolds received the heart during a 3 1/2-hour operation Tuesday that was performed by Dr. Richard Ott and a special heart transplant team. Ott performed the county’s first heart transplant on April 8. The second heart transplant in Orange County was performed two weeks later at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach.

The heart implanted into Reynolds was obtained through the Regional Organ Procurement Agency in Los Angeles. The donor’s family, however, requested that his identity not be released.