A very complex surgery where a patient’s diseased or failing heart is replaced by the healthy heart of a deceased donor. The lifesaving intervention is made only in those cases of end-stage heart diseases, in which the patients have experienced other failures. Common indications for heart transplantation include ischemic heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, and restrictive cardiomyopathy.

It then goes ahead to full assessment to declare whether or not the patient is qualified for transplantation. This will involve physical tests, blood tests, imaging procedures, and psychological tests as well. This is basically to declare whether the patient can bear the surgery or even treatment after the transplant. On being declared competent, a patient is put into a list of waiting candidates, from which they receive priority for transplantation based on the patient’s medical requirements, his compatibility with the proposed donor, and his general well-being as well.

A compatible donor heart is immediately brought into the operating room. This is mainly done by opening the chest through a median sternotomy procedure. The diseased heart is removed and the major blood vessels are connected to the patient’s major vessels, which allows the patient to live comfortably. Skilled techniques and appropriate management are therefore necessary in this surgery.

After this surgery, postoperative intensive care unit stay is the usual course followed in medical wards to ward off rejections or infection. One has to carry immunosuppressive drugs to avoid rejecting the new heart; hence, one always has infections all around.

With the improvement in the prognosis of heart transplantation, so does the quality of life and survival of patients benefiting many. Still, a lot of side effects are there in terms of side effects of drugs, the need to attend for follow-up medication regularly, and also an opportunity for rejection. Advanced knowledge, research, and innovation give rise to heart transplantation hope in the future for some persons facing extreme heart failure.