Temple University Hospital, site of first heart transplant in Philadelphia, still making medical history

Philadelphia is a city of firsts. The city's first heart transplant came 42 years ago. 

Sixty-year-old Earl Jones was born with a congenital heart defect. By age 30, he was in congestive heart failure and needed a heart transplant.

"It was just a snowball that turned into an avalanche," Jones said.

Jones' transplant was in March 2002 at Temple University Hospital, where decades earlier, the hospital made headlines when it became the first in the city to perform a heart transplant

"I used to think I was the unluckiest person in the world, but I no longer think that way. I'm the most blessed person in the world," Jones said.

Dr. Eman Hamad, director of Temple's transplant program, said the hospital has done close to 1,400 heart transplants since then, including some dual transplants, such as heart-lung and heart-kidney transplants.

"We're proud to continue that legacy in the world of heart transplants," Hamad said.    

Doctors say that since the early days of heart transplants, the operation has been refined and improved with better outcomes.

Jones said his operation was a success. His heart transplant was never expected to last this long.

"They said on average, life expectancy post-heart transplant is eight years," he said. 

Filled with gratitude, Jones is now a volunteer for the Gift of Life Donor Program, supporting other transplant families.

"Nobody's living a better life than I'm living," he said. 

There are now about 3,700 heart transplants a year nationally, and doctors say survival rates have improved dramatically.