Skip to main content
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
  1. HOME
  2. Programs
  3. Advanced Heart Failure
  4. Heart Transplantation

Heart Transplantation

Heart Surgery Heart transplant is a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased donor. This procedure is typically used to treat end-stage heart failure.

Heart transplant is typically reserved for patients who have exhausted all other treatment options, including medication, lifestyle changes, and other surgical procedures.

UC San Diego has been a pioneer in heart transplant surgery since 1989. With 89 hearts transplanted in 2022, UC San Diego has one of the highest volumes in the nation, and our survival rates (patient and graft) exceed national averages.

UC San Diego is the first center on the West Coast to perform heart transplant surgery from a donor after circulatory death using a warm perfusion system that keeps the organ viable longer, ameliorating the limited number of viable hearts available for transplant.