The Changing Face of Heart Transplantation

The Changing Face of Heart Transplantation Sharon A. Hunt, François Haddad It has been 40 years since the first human-to-human heart transplant performed in South Africa by Christiaan Barnard in December 1967. Since then, refinement of donor and recipient selection methods, better donor heart management, and advances in immunosuppression have significantly improved survival. In this paper, we hope to give a perspective on the changing face of heart transplantation. Topics that will be covered include the changing patient population as well as recent advances in transplantation immunology, organ preservation, allograft vasculopathy, and immune tolerance.