COVID-19 Vaccine Information and Updates Read the Latest
Children's Hospital is part of the UPMC family.
Our Sites
Be safe anytime, anywhere.
To find a pediatrician or pediatric specialist, please call 412-692-7337 or search our directory.
A resource for our network of referring physicians.
For more information about research, please call our main office at 412-692-6438.
Ranked #9 Nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
Abbey Shanah Bridgett’s heart failed when she was only 8. She may have died, doctors say, if not for an experimental, child-size artificial heart pump that kept her alive while awaiting a heart transplant.
For years, pumps have been used successfully for adults awaiting transplants, but only recently have U.S. researchers focused attention on devices for the tiniest heart patients. Because so few children need such technology – maybe 30 or 40 a year in the United States – there has been no commercial interest in producing such pumps in the United States. At Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, surgeons have been working with a European ventricular assist device called the Berlin Heart. They have implanted the device, approved for use in Europe, in Shanah and another child.
Shanah was near death when she got her implant; eight days later, she received a donor heart. Now her mother often has to scold her for doing one-handed cartwheels.
The pediatric Berlin Heart has only been used in the United States 12 times, in each case with emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
About 25 percent of children waiting for new hearts die before receiving a transplant, and the Berlin Heart could reduce that number. Victor O. Morell, MD, chief of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at Children’s Hospital, said even a wait of a few days for the FDA’s emergency approval for the pump can cost lives.
The device sits outside of the body and is connected to the heart and vessels by a pair of tubes. Children implanted with the Berlin Heart tend to become stronger and healthier, putting them in a better condition to survive transplantation.
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh physicians and others are working on a completely implantable pump that is about the size of a chestnut.
Children's Hospital's main campus is located in the Lawrenceville neighborhood. Our main hospital address is:
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh One Children’s Hospital Way 4401 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15224
In addition to the main hospital, Children's has many convenient locations in other neighborhoods throughout the greater Pittsburgh region.
With myCHP, you can request appointments, review test results, and more.
For questions about a hospital bill call:
To pay your bill online, please visit UPMC's online bill payment system.
Interested in giving to Children's Hospital? Support the hospital by making a donation online, joining our Heroes in Healing monthly donor program, or visiting our site to learn about the other ways you can give back.