A donor heart is a heart that has been donated by a deceased person to be transplanted into a living person who has end-stage heart failure. Heart transplantation is a major surgery, and it is only performed on people who are very sick and have no other treatment options.
The first successful heart transplant was performed in 1967, and since then, more than 100,000 heart transplants have been performed worldwide. Heart transplantation is a life-saving surgery, but it is not a cure. People who receive heart transplants need to take medication for the rest of their lives to prevent their bodies from rejecting the new heart.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), there are currently over 3,000 people in the United States waiting for a heart transplant. The average wait time for a heart transplant is about 18 months, but it can be longer or shorter depending on the recipient’s blood type, age, and other factors.
If you are considering becoming an organ donor, you can register with your state’s donor registry. You can also talk to your family about your wishes to be a donor.