Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Mayo Clinic Talks
Episode: Transplantation Series: Cardiac Transplantation
Description: Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.
Guest: Ruben J. Crespo-Diaz, M.D., Ph.D.
The world’s first human-to-human heart transplant was performed in 1967 and represented a significant breakthrough for medical science. Although the transplant patient only survived 18 days, it was still a historic event. Since this initial heart transplant, significant improvements have been made in the field of organ transplantation and currently, approximately 5000 heart transplants are performed annually. Unfortunately, over ten times this number could benefit from the procedure. What’s the limiting factor in the number of heart transplants performed? What are the curr...