What is Results of Recipient Operation ?

International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) maintains data from more than 300 centres starting from 1980. Data for 61,533 such operations are, now available. After reaching a peak of 4,466 transplants in 1995, the numbers have been gradually declining. In the United States the number is fairly stable - around 2200 - more than the number from all the other countries put together.

Survival at one year has remained constant - around 79 per cent. Risk of death, is greatest in the first three months after operation. Thereafter there is a fall off rate of 4 per cent year. Survival at five years is around 63 per cent falling to 43 per cent at 10 years and 23 per cent at 15 years. Stanford University in USA has the maximum experience. They have 150 patients surviving more than 10 years, 38 patients more than 15 years and 8 patients more than 20 years. In their group longest survival is reported to be 23.5 years. Survival has improved after the introduction of cyclosporine A and OKT 3. However re-transplantation results are less satisfactory - 49 per cent at one year and 15 per cent at 10 years. Patients die of acute heart failure (early rejection) and infection. For late deaths, accelerated coronary artery disease and malignancy are partly responsible.