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Cardiologists at Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health performed what is believed to be the world’s first partial heart transplant by fusing the arteries and valves from a freshly donated heart onto an existing heart, the system said in an email to Becker's Sept. 8. The procedure was performed on a newborn with truncus arteriosus — a condition in which the two main heart arteries are fused together. Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, Duke’s chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, led the surgery team. (Gleeson, 9/8)

The scarring on baby Owen Monroe's chest is a reminder to his parents of the leap of faith they took. He doesn't know it yet, but he's the world's first person to ever successfully receive a partial heart transplant. "He was basically already in heart failure right out the gate," said Tayler Monroe, Owens's mother. He was born with a condition called truncus arteriosus, where his two main heart arteries were fused together. Doctors say he wouldn't survive the wait for a full heart transplant. His parents reside in Leland and traveled to Duke Hospital for the procedure. (Davis, 9/8)

Friday, the United States is expected to pass another milestone: 1 million solid-organ transplants. Most have been kidneys, followed by livers, hearts and lungs. "To have the ability and the science and the technology to transplant an organ from one person to another so that person has another chance to live is nothing short of a miracle," said Barry Massa, president of the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. "Without the generosity of people who said yes to being a donor … none of this would have been accomplished." (Weintraub, 9/9)

More than 40,000 organ transplants are performed each year, an average of 113 a day. Organ transplants in the United States continue to rise because of increases in registered organ donors, new transplant programs, organ preservation, and the number of trained transplant surgeons and physicians. These charts offer a snapshot of the growth. (Borresen, 9/9)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday alerted healthcare providers about a potential clip lock issue with Abbott Laboratories' MitraClip device used to stop heart valve leakage. The medical device treats mitral regurgitation, a condition in which the mitral valve of the heart does not close properly, causing blood leakage that can lead to stroke, heart attack or even death. MitraClip was first approved in 2013. (9/8)

Detailed data from a successful heart disease study show a therapy developed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals performed significantly better than placebo, but the magnitude of its benefit will stir debate among cardiologists and investors on what could be a blockbuster medicine. (Garde, 9/8)