St. Luke’s comes close to world record gathering of heart transplant recipients

So close.

St. Luke’s Hospital attempted Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the most heart transplant recipients in one place at 189.

The number who gathered at Kansas City’s Berkley Riverfront Park: 187.

“It was a valiant effort but heart-breakingly short,” said Laurel Gifford, director of media relations for St. Luke’s Health System.

The hospital is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its heart transplant program. Nearly 700 heart transplants have been completed.

“It’s a special year, so we thought we’d attempt the world record,” Gifford said. “To come so close was still quite impressive.”

Duke University holds the 189 record.

The St. Luke’s gathering came at the 14th annual cardiac transplant family picnic, which reunites patients, their families and their care teams.

“It was wonderful to see not only all of these amazing transplant recipients and their families,” Gifford said, “but also the connections they have with their cardiologists and nurses and care teams. You walk away knowing that they really are a forever family.”

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 3:38 PM with the headline "St. Luke’s comes close to world record gathering of heart transplant recipients."