The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) [1, 2]
Summary of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) Consensus Conference on Graft Dysfunction within the First 72 hours after Heart Transplantation: A 10-year Update
This guideline holds 1 figure.
Summary
This news release from Elsevier, published on December 4, 2017, commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first human heart transplant performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard on December 3, 1967 [3, 11]. It highlights a special issue of The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation (Volume 36, Issue 12) featuring ten editorials and a special feature article on donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart transplants [6, 9, 18]. It outlines the historical evolution of transplant medicine, the introduction of cyclosporine, mechanical cardiac support, and future directions such as xenotransplantation [13, 19-21].
On December 3, 1967, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant in Cape Town, South Africa, transplanting the heart of a 25-year-old woman into a 53-year-old man [3, 11]. Although the patient survived 18 days [11], subsequent transplants and decades of research overcame barriers such as organ preservation [8], endomyocardial biopsy for rejection monitoring [19], and immunosuppressant protocols (especially cyclosporine in the 1980s) [19, 20], establishing heart transplantation as standard life-extending therapy [22].
Key takeaways
December 3, 1967, marked the world's first human heart transplant performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town, South Africa.
Over 150,000 patients globally have received a heart transplant since 1967, which restores quality of life and extends survival by a median of 14 years.
The field faced an unofficial moratorium in 1970 due to universally poor outcomes, highlighting early needs for better rejection diagnostics, donor heart procurement techniques, and societal acceptance of brain death definitions.
The clinical introduction of cyclosporine in the early 1980s revolutionized immunosuppression, dramatically improved survival rates (such as achieving 80% one-year survival at Papworth), and made mechanical circulatory support a viable bridge to transplant.
A landmark study on donation after circulatory death (DCD) heart transplantation showed that 90-day post-transplant survival was not significantly different compared to traditional donation after brain death (DBD) transplants.
