For more than half a century, and nearly 1,000 graduates, The Texas Heart Institute School of Perfusion Technology has not only trained top-tier cardiovascular specialists but also fostered a deep-rooted culture of service that spans generations. That spirit of giving recently united two alumni—Tom Klein, BS, CCP, LCP, FPP (Class of June 1985) and Sarah Gadille, CCP, LP, RRT-NPS (Class of June 2021)—on a life-changing medical mission to Ghana, where they brought advanced perfusion care to patients in need.

Klein, a retired perfusionist who most recently practiced at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, graduated from the Perfusion School with the school’s current Director and Clinical Coordinator, Deborah Lowery Adams, MA, LP, CCP. Gadille, who was mentored by Adams years later, is now a pediatric cardiovascular perfusionist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Klein and Gadille joined the medical outreach effort as part of a team which, for the past 17 years, has partnered with Hearts and Minds of Ghana, a pediatric cardiac initiative spearheaded by Boston Children’s Hospital. In 2008, the program achieved a historic milestone by performing the first pediatric open-heart surgery in West Africa. Today, the initiative is proudly based at the National Cardiothoracic Centre in Accra, Ghana.

The nationally recognized perfusion school provides a comprehensive, 18-month post-baccalaureate certificate program in perfusion technology, and trains cardiovascular care professionals to perform cardiopulmonary bypass.  Along with other life-support techniques, these valuable skills are used during cardiovascular surgery and critical care medicine scenarios.

Trainees and graduates alike embrace a tradition of volunteering their skills to provide medical care on mission trips to other countries. The school boasts numerous recipients of the prestigious Perfusion Without Borders mission travel scholarship from the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (AmSECT), including Cody Adams (Class of December 2023), Frances Lewis (Class of December 2022) and Leslie Gonzalez (Class of December 2020). Adams has helped set the example for this global effort, traveling on mission trips to Peru, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Bulgaria and China.

The Perfusion School’s emphasis on the importance of global outreach is also highlighted by the roster of dedicated speakers for the International Perfusion session at The Texas Heart Institute Perfusion Conference. Last year, Klein shared his experience with Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, with other perfusionists describing humanitarian perfusion in Ukraine, perfusion education in East Africa, and cardiac medical mission efforts. This year, Gadille will present her experience with perfusion training in Ghana. This global perspective and tradition of service strengthens the perfusionists’ commitment to patient care.

Please join us for the 2025 Perfusion Conference on May 29-31 at The Texas Heart Institute.