The Registry of Spanish Heart Transplantation. Tenth Official Report (1984-1998)

The results of the Spanish Registry of Heart Transplantation are hereby presented. A total of 349 trasplants were performed in 1998 -representing a net 2756 transplants since 1984. The number of procedures increased again in the last year, with a 9.8% rise over the preceding year. This was probably due to an increase in the number of available organs, combined with less restrictive acceptance conditions imposed by the prolonged waiting list. Early mortality improved compared to 1997 (11% versus 16%), despite an increase in the proportion of urgent transplants performed (26% versus 22%). Overall survival increased for all transplant types and situations (urgent, pediatric, elderly and combined with kidney, liver or lung) on incorporating the 1998 data to the previous year (survival at 1 and 5 years: 74% and 62% versus 73% and 60%). Mean patient survival also increased from 8.6 to 9.5 years. As in the previous year, over 100 variables per patient have been analyzed to establish predictors of early and late mortality. In conclusion, heart transplantation in Spain has not yet reached a plateau, and year after year the number of procedures increases, with improved results.