Pa. man receives heart transplant

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) -- The first person in the United States to get a revolutionary heart pump has gotten a long-needed heart transplant after finally convincing doctors he had stopped smoking.
Officials at Hershey Medical Center said Gayle Snider, 36, of West York, on Saturday received the heart of a 24-year-old man who died in the Philadelphia area.
Snider was listed in critical condition Sunday, a day after the operation, and was expected to regain consciousness, a hospital official said.
Dr. Walter Pae, a leader of the surgical team that performed the transplant, said Snider could leave the hospital in less than two weeks if there are no complications.
Snider had needed a heart transplant since 1996, when his heart was severely damaged by an unknown condition, possibly a virus. But for years, he was ineligible for a transplant because he smoked.
On May 14, 2003, he received an Arrow LionHeart, an experimental heart-assist pump developed at the Hershey hospital. The completely implantable device took over the work of the his heart's main pumping chamber.
Snider said he hasn't smoked since the day before he got the experimental pump, but doctors would not take his word for it. He had to submit to six months of random urine tests to prove he no longer smoked.