Does Cardiac Transplantation Significantly Prolong Life and Improve Its Quality?

The human cardiac transplant experience at the Stanford University Medical Center is presented in order to assess the current therapeutic role of this procedure. Of 47 patients undergoing transplantation from January 1968 to September 1972, 16 are currently alive. A total of 25 patients have survived longer than 3 months following surgery. Twenty of these returned to functional class I cardiac state and their previous activities, for a total of 25.6 patient-years. The current 1-year survival following cardiac transplantation in this series is similar to that for organ function after transplantation with cadaver renal allografts. In addition, functional and vocational rehabilitation are possible for critically ill patients following successful cardiac transplantation.