Transitioning to adult care

Support for younger patients

At some point between the age of 16 and 18, the care of younger patients will be moved to an adult transplant centre. This process is called transition.

Making the transition to adult care can be an anxious time for younger patients and their families, as most transplant patients will have been cared for by the same paediatric team for many years. In addition, patients aged 16-18 will be becoming more independent in their everyday lives; perhaps moving from school to college or considering university and employment.

It is essential that these kinds of changes in the lives of younger patients do not adversely affect their health, which is why paediatric units will do their best to offer support during this time. 

Preparing younger patients for transition to adult care

The paediatric units will help prepare children and young people to gain independence through their adolescent years with both medical and non-medical advice. This will help them to understand their medical needs and empower them to manage them.

The paediatric units will highlight some of the important differences in medical follow-up, and focus on issues such as medicine dispensing and checking of immunosuppressant levels. They will advise patients and families on the options around choosing an adult transplant centre, and may even visit the centre with the patient for their first clinic appointment to give a detailed and personalised handover of the entire patient journey to the adult team.

Please talk to your paediatric heart transplant team if you’d like more information on transition.