Three Strikes and You're Out, or are You? Mayo Clinic Performs first Successful Triple-Organ Transplant in the State
Doyle Duke had always dreamed of playing Major League Baseball (MLB). It wasn’t just a dream though—Duke sought to make his ambition a reality. However, when Duke was 14 years old, he underwent a routine physical needed to join the baseball team, and the doctors heard a murmur in his heart. It wasn’t a normal heartbeat. Instead, Duke was diagnosed with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis or IHSS, a condition that causes the heart muscle to become abnormally thick. IHSS makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood and deliver both oxygen and nutrients to help your organs and muscles work properly. Over the course of his life, Duke has undergone five ablation open-heart surgeries. Cardiac ablation is a procedure that scars tissue in the heart to block irregular electrical signals. But, IHSS’ continued its pursuit on Duke’s heart. “I had a good run there for a while, I was feeling pretty good and then, it started deteriorating.”
Surgery did very little and in fact, not nearly enough to prevent Duke’s heart disease from advancing. Duke’s IHSS ultimately resulted in heart failure, and other organs in his body were affected resulting in liver disease, liver failure, and chronic kidney disease. Unfortunately, heart transplant is not an option with liver and kidney disease. The presence of these diseases increases the likelihood of poor outcomes and long-term complications after a heart transplant. Duke was at strike three, and time was only ticking. It was time for a new heart, and a multi-organ transplant was the only choice for survival.
Duke was swiftly listed as a triple-organ transplant candidate, one of 100,000 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the United States. In Arizona alone, there are over 2,200 people in need of an organ, according to the National Kidney Foundation of Arizona. Duke’s medical team reached out to Mayo Clinic in Arizona for help— a procedure like this, or a triple-organ transplant, is incredibly rare. To date, only 42 triple transplants have been performed in the US, with only 2-3 of these transplants happening per year. And of all the states which have hosted 42 triple-transplants, Arizona had not. However, Mayo Clinic Arizona performs more transplants than anywhere else in the US; there was hope for Duke. And on December 7th, 2022, Phoenix’s Mayo Clinic made history.
Duke underwent the surgery which took over 14 hours to complete. The transplant involved over 20 doctors, nurses, and medical staff—and for each organ, there were at least two surgeons in addition to a surgical assistant. Medical director of the liver transplant program, Dr. Bashar Aqel said, “Mr. Duke’s case represents a very unique case that required a high level of skill and we’re extremely happy that the outcome was that good. This opens the door for more organ transplants.”
Today, Duke has fully recovered. He is not only able to breathe normally but can now feel the beats of his own heart. “…this thing was beating like 120 beats a minute. It was just pounding out of my chest. I’m like, ‘that’s different! I’m not used to that!’” New organs brought Duke new opportunities. Duke not only credits the doctors and staff of Mayo Clinic but of course, the donor themselves. “I lay down at night and I think, ‘this is somebody else’s part. I need to do better. I need to get better — stronger,” Duke said. “So that’s what I’d probably tell him. I’m trying my best for you…”
Every year, April is observed as National Donate Life Month which focuses on garnering attention on the necessity and importance of organ, eye, and tissue donation. All New Yorkers 16 years and older can register to save lives by signing up as organ donors. For Duke, and for the hundreds of thousands like Duke, you can sign up and save a life here.