[Comment] Heart transplantation at 50

Heralded as a miracle of medicine, the world received notice on Dec 3, 1967, that a diseased human heart had been successfully exchanged for a donor allograft.1 In the decade that followed, enthusiasm abated as allograft survival was limited due to defiance of the immune system.2 The introduction of the immunosuppressant ciclosporin —a watershed moment to boost rejection-free survival—and the ability to histologically survey the cardiac allograft using biopsy measurably augmented cardiac allograft outcome.

Source: LANCET - December 1, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Mandeep R Mehra Tags: Comment Source Type: research