Spanish heart transplant registry. 33rd official report of the Heart failure Association of the Spanish Society of Cardiology

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: This report updates the annual data of the Spanish Heart Transplant Registry with the procedures performed in 2021.

Methods: We describe the clinical profile, therapeutic characteristics and outcomes in terms of survival of the procedures performed in 2021. Their temporal trends are updated for the 2012 to 2020 period.

Results: In 2021, 302 heart transplants were performed (8.6% increase versus 2020). The tendency in 2021 confirmed that of prior years, with fewer urgent transplants and a preference for the use of ventricular assist devices. The remaining characteristics and survival showed a clear trend toward stability in the last decade. Compared with 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (2020 and 2021) did not affect short- or long-term survival.

Conclusions: In 2021, transplant activity returned to prepandemic levels. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic did not significantly affect transplant outcomes. The main transplant features and outcomes have clearly stabilized in the last decade.

Keywords: Heart transplant; Registro; Registry; Supervivencia; Survival; Trasplante cardiaco.