ISHLT Fast Facts
Published 26 March 2024
Mission
The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary, professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart or lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support, and innovative therapies via research, education, and advocacy.
ISHLT members focus on transplantation and a range of interventions and therapies related to advanced heart and lung disease, including, but not limited to, transplantation.
We are the only global, multidisciplinary organization focused on advancing the science and standards of care to improve patient outcomes, developing the next generation of researchers and clinicians, and promoting access to care worldwide.
Founded 1981
Membership
3,484 from more than 50 countries practicing in 23 specialty areas, including physicians, researchers, nurses, and allied health professionals, and medical trainees who participate in:
- clinical research
- early post-operative care
- long-term/follow-up care
- operative or acute care
- teaching
- patient/family education
- organizational leadership
- medical/psycho-social evaluation
- basic/translational research
- transplant or VAD coordination
- Histo/pathological examination
- Other clinical care
10 Professional Communities for networking, sharing expertise and advancing knowledge
- Anesthesiology and critical care
- Cardiology
- Cardiothoracic surgery
- Infectious diseases
- Nursing and Allied health
- Pathology
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacy
- Pulmonology
- Research and Immunology
4 Interdisciplinary Networks focused on core therapies for advanced-stage heart and lung disease
Activity Areas
- Education: Annual scientific meeting, core competency courses, master classes and post-graduate seminars, webinars, and collaborative activities
- Research: Research and Career Development Grants, International Travel Fellowships, International Thoracic Transplantation Registry (TTX), International Mechanical Circulatory Support Registry (IMACS)
- Membership and Outreach: Ethics of Transplantation; Advocacy to Improve the Environment for Research and Clinical Care; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access for Patients, Families, and Members; Recognition and Achievement Awards.
- Professional Standards and Publications: Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation (JHLT), JHLT Open, Professional Practice Standards and Guidelines, Monograph Series
JHLT
The society’s flagship journal, the peer-reviewed Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, is the number one journal in transplantation, with an impact factor of 8.578.
Standards and Guidelines
ISHLT regularly develops Professional Practice Guidelines and Consensus Statements, Health Policy Guidance Statements, Standards Statements, and Public Comments on professional practice matters and the care of patients with advanced heart and/or lung disease.
Most cited in last five years:
- Consensus Document for the Selection of Lung Transplant Candidates: An Update from ISHLT (2021)
- The 2023 ISHLT Guidelines for Mechanical Circulatory Support: A 10-Year Update (2023)
- ISHLT Guidelines for the Care of Heart Transplant Recipients (2022)
- Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction: Definition, Diagnostic Criteria, and Approaches to Treatment (2019)
- The ISHLT/HFSA Guidelines on Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support (2023)
Recently published:
- Assessing and Managing Frailty in Advanced Heart Failure: An ISHLT Consensus Statement
- Heart Failure Related to Cardiogenic Shock: An ISHLT Consensus Conference Content Summary
- 2023 AHA/ACC Clinical Performance and Quality Measures for Coronary Artery Revascularization
ISHLT Foundation
Founded in 2022 to advance the science, develop the next generation of researchers and clinicians, and promote equity and access in research and care.
Funding for 2023-2024 research grants is $1.5 million USD
Heart and Lung Transplant Stats
More than 5,000 heart transplants are performed annually worldwide, an increase of 53 percent between 2011 and 2022. It’s estimated that 50,000 candidates await a heart transplant. A shortage of organs remains the major limiting factor to the number of transplants performed.
More than 4,600 lung transplants are performed worldwide each year. Approximately 80 percent of those are bilateral (both lungs).
Survival Rates
The Kaplan-Meier rates for adult and pediatric transplants collected by the ISHLT Patient Registry January 1992 – June 2017 are:
- Median survival rate following heart transplant: 11.9 years
- Median survival rate following lung transplant: 6.2 years for adults; 5.7 years for pediatric patients.
Media Contact:
Jess Burke, CAE, IOM
+1-312-224-0015
Jess.burke@ishlt.org