Iowa's first heart transplant recipient dies

Emerson Martin never took birthdays - or any day - for granted.

As Iowa's first heart transplant patient, Martin, who died Wednesday at age 50, knew he was beating the odds every day.

“We are all grateful for the almost 25 years that we had,” his wife, Traci Martin, said today. “I still appreciate the sacrifice that family made 25 years ago.”

The North Liberty man was given only a 50-50 chance of surviving the first year after his June 2, 1985, transplant at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

The donor was an Illinois man who died of injuries from a motorcycle accident.

Martin was manager of a McDonald's restaurant in Webster City in 1984 when he began experiencing shortness of breath that was eventually diagnosed as cardiomyopathy, or heart muscle disease.

He was placed on the organ waiting list and moved to Coralville with his family as the hospital readied its heart transplant program.

Medications that prevented his body from rejecting the heart resulted in bone fractures and other side effects, and half of his left kidney was removed after doctors discovered cancer about 12 years ago.

Traci Martin said her husband had been healthy, however, before he suddenly died when his heart stopped last night.

She spoke with him by phone at 5:41 p.m. and one of his daughters called 911 at 6:40 p.m. after he collapsed at home.

The couple had three daughters, Mandy and Ashley, who both had married in recent years, and Emily, 12, who was born after the heart transplant.

He enjoyed spending time with his twin grandsons, his wife said.

The family donated his corneas according to the wishes of Martin, who actively promoted transplant surgery.

Funeral services are pending.