Saturday, February 9, 2007, the Heart Exchange made their annual Research donation to Texas Heart Institute.

This year, the donation was made in memory of Dr Branislav "Brano" Radovancevic.  

Mr. Marc Mattsson, CEO of Texas Heart Institute, received the donation and spoke to the group about the work and mission of Texas Heart Institute and  in particular, about the role of the institution in research and education as well as the  contributions made by Dr Brano.

Marc Mattsson (left), Dr. Brano's brother and Tom Griggs during presentation of support  to Texas Heart Institute -transplant research program

The heart transplant program of the Texas Heart Institute (THI) was launched in 1982 with the advent of the anti-rejection drug Cyclosporine. In 2006, the heart transplant team led by Bud Frazier, MD, surpassed its 1,000th heart transplant, believed to be more than any other heart center in the world.

Ten of the 23 recipients who achieved the 20th anniversary of their heart transplants attended a celebratory luncheon in their honor.