Cardiac transplantation is the only cure for patients with end-stage cardiac disease refractory to optimized medical therapy and for whom conventional cardiac surgery is not indicated. This Meeting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first heart transplant performed in our Division will benefit from speakers representing several of the most qualified National and International Centers. We will review the major historical milestones in cardiac transplantation. The current state will also be analyzed with respect to the growing disproportion between the number of transplant candidates and available organs. The speakers will provide an overview of possible solutions including: cell therapy and xenotransplantion, which are still experimental but show a lot of potential, and mechanical ventricular assist device, a better established and widely used intervention as bridge to transplantation but mainly with the innovative concept of destination therapy. Finally, the meeting will end with a scientific analysis of heart transplant patients' quality of life and a patient panel. The panel will discuss their renewed life, the psychological aspect of receiving a heart transplant and the acceptance of such a gift.
Prof. Mario Viganò and Dr. Giovanni Azzaretti Co-Presidents of the Meeting