Panthers' Owner gets New Heart

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was contacted Sunday night and rushed to Carolinas Medical Center for a heart transplant after spending 2 months on the waiting list.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Mark Stiegel and Dr. Eric Skipper and lasted approximately 5 hours. Stiegel said in a release issued by the team that "the donor heart was working well," and team officials described Richardson as "resting comfortably" at CMC while surrounded by family.

According to CMC spokesman Scott White, the hospital has performed 428 heart transplants since 1986. Of the adult transplant recipients, 94.74 percent survived the first month, 89.47 percent the first year and 80.65 percent three years.

The 72-year-old Richardson was placed on the national transplant list in December. The median wait for a heart is 2.1 months, putting him slightly ahead of schedule. Patients are matched with available organs based on compatibility, size and location. Not only did the former Baltimore Colts tight end need a matching blood type, it had to be from a donor near his size (he's 6-4) and close enough for transport. The window for a donor heart to be ready for transplant is around four hours.