Spanish heart transplant registry. 35th official report of the Heart Failure Association of the Spanish Society of Cardiology

Introduction and objectives

Our aim was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of heart transplants in Spain.

Methods

We analyzed trends in recipient and donor characteristics, recipient-donor interaction, surgical procedures, immunosuppression, and outcomes of patients included in the Spanish heart transplant registry from 2014 to 2023. Changes in survival were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results

In 2023, 325 cardiac transplants were performed (4.5% more than in the previous year), with a total of 2987 procedures from 2014 to 2023. There was a trend toward performing more transplants in women (29.2%), with etiologies other than cardiomyopathy (32.6%), and with better pretransplant status (less hepatic [12.5%], renal [glomerular filtration rate, 81.5 mL/min/1.73 m²], and respiratory [8.7%] involvement). In 2023, the number of urgent transplants increased (44% of the total), especially those performed after circulatory support with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (36% of total assistance), and transplants performed with donation after circulatory death (17.9%). Survival improved in the triennium from 2020 to 2022 compared with 2014 to 2016 (83.0% at 1 year from 2020-2022 vs 79.0% from 2014-2016).

Conclusions

The number of transplants performed in Spain showed an upward trend, with recipients with better clinical status and an increasing use of donation after circulatory death. Survival improved in the last triennium.