The Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) has awarded the Children’s of Alabama/UAB Pediatric Transplant and Heart team it PHTS Vanguard Award. This award is given to centers who have met criteria signaling a program’s reliability, timeliness, and adequate volume.

The Pediatric Heart Transplant Study (PHTS) is the world’s largest and oldest registry for pediatric patients that require listing for heart transplantation. PHTS was started in the mid 1990’s at UAB as a collaborative effort between UAB Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and UAB Pediatric Cardiology.

Over the years PHTS has grown into a global enterprise with Pediatric Heart Transplant programs for all of the US and the world contributing data. The administrative and coordinating center continues to reside in Birmingham. The collected data have been the basis of numerous studies which have significantly guided all aspects of best practices in the field including transplant listings, circulatory support, transplant surgery, postoperative and long-term post-transplant treatments.