Committees

ISHLT leverages the value of its interdisciplinarity to deliver on the Society’s mission by organizing into four core therapy/disease-focused practice areas called Interdisciplinary Networks (IDNs). Under the leadership of an Interdisciplinary Steering Committee, each of these Interdisciplinary Networks ensure that the mission and purposes of the Society and all of the activities pursued by the Society are reflective of the perspectives and needs of the entire health care delivery team.

ISHLT leverages the value of its interdisciplinarity to deliver on the Society’s mission by organizing into four core therapy/disease-focused practice areas called Interdisciplinary Networks (IDNs). Under the leadership of an Interdisciplinary Steering Committee, each of these Interdisciplinary Networks ensure that the mission and purposes of the Society and all of the activities pursued by the Society are reflective of the perspectives and needs of the entire health care delivery team.

The Advocacy Committee develops and maintains general guidance about issues the Society should address and is responsible for providing procedural guidance and event-driven input to inform ISHLT activities as an organization or in partnership with other organizations.

The 16-person ISHLT Board of Directors is responsible for managing the affairs of the Society and providing appropriate and effective governance and leadership of ISHLT.

The Conflict-of-Interest Management Committee is responsible for the development, and management of ISHLT conflict of interest policies. This includes identifying and mitigating potential conflicts members may have while serving in leadership roles related to CME education planning, determining processes used to review and mitigate COI for all educational activities offering CME credit, and defining triggers for committee review of potential conflicts. The COI Management Committee is under the auspices of the Education Oversight Committee.

The purpose of the Early Career and Trainee Committee (ECTC) is to coordinate the Society’s efforts to engage with, provide effective mentorship of and leadership opportunities for those who are in the early stages of their careers in advanced heart failure and transplantation, advanced lung failure and transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and pulmonary vascular disease.

The Education Oversight Committee develops recommendations for the Board of Directors related to education. It develops policies governing programs, ensures ISHLT’s education portfolio furthers the Society’s strategic plan and meets the needs of members. It provides guidance and oversight to the Chairs of educational activities, monitors adherence to policy, evaluates the performance of educational activities, and serves as a Conflict of Interest Committee for educational activities.

The Ethics Committee addresses issues referred by the Board of Directors or generated by the committee and recommends strategies to advance ISHLT’s goal of fostering an ethical, diverse, and inclusive organization.

Executive Committee

The Finance Committee assists with the development of the Society's annual budget and oversees the financial performance of the Society. It reviews an annual independent auditor's report, oversees the Society's investments, addresses financial matters as requested by the Board of Directors, and provides general guidance to the Board related to the fiscal well-being of the Society.

The Governance Committee includes two components: a Governance Operating Committee and a Governance Nominating Committee.

The Grants ommittee oversees and administers the Society’s research grant program, including the development of new research grants, all grant application processes, review of submitted applications, and grantee follow-up reports.

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (IMACS) is an international registry intended to enroll and follow patients who receive durable mechanically assisted circulatory support devices (MCSD) in all countries and hospitals that wish to participate.

The Leadership Advisory Forum provides input, feedback, and advice to the Board, proactively, regarding issues including strategic planning, environmental scanning, policy, mega issues and programs and services.

ISHLT leverages the value of its interdisciplinarity to deliver on the Society’s mission by organizing into four core therapy/disease-focused practice areas called Interdisciplinary Networks (IDNs). Under the leadership of an Interdisciplinary Steering Committee, each of these Interdisciplinary Networks ensure that the mission and purposes of the Society and all of the activities pursued by the Society are reflective of the perspectives and needs of the entire health care delivery team.

The purpose of the Membership & Outreach Oversight Committee (MOOC) is to oversee and harmonize the Society’s membership, ethics, advocacy, DEI, and outreach efforts to ensure they align with and advance ISHLT’s mission and strategic priorities. The MOOC provides guidance and oversight to the committees under its purview, ensuring coordinated activities, development of and adherence to policies, and meaningful engagement of a diverse membership across disciplines, geographies, and demographics. Through strategic evaluation and collaboration, the MOOC fosters an inclusive, engaged community that strengthens ISHLT’s impact and reach.

The Membership Committee promotes the growth and retention of membership within the Society by working with staff and the Society’s organizational components to develop strategies to remove barriers to participation and enhance the value of membership.

Past Presidents

The goals of the Pediatric to Adult Transition Task Force are to define the specific challenges of patients before and after cardiothoracic transplantation, requiring mechanical circulatory support and being affected by chronic heart or lung failure and pulmonary hypertension associated with transition into adulthood and independent self-care and provide specific guidance and materials for their optimized management and support to minimize the associated detriment to health and well-being.

ISHLT leverages the value of its interdisciplinarity to deliver on the Society’s mission by organizing into four core therapy/disease-focused practice areas called Interdisciplinary Networks (IDNs). Under the leadership of an Interdisciplinary Steering Committee, each of these Interdisciplinary Networks ensure that the mission and purposes of the Society and all of the activities pursued by the Society are reflective of the perspectives and needs of the entire health care delivery team.

The Research Oversight Committee develops recommendations for the Board of Directors related to research. It ensures ISHLT’s research portfolio furthers the Society’s strategic plan and meets the needs of its members. It develops, implements, and oversees adherence to policies and contracts governing the operational and fiscal aspects of all programs under its purview and provides guidance and oversight to the individual committee chairs. It facilitates the engagement of a diverse spectrum of members in ISHLT’s research portfolio, monitors adherence to policy, evaluates ISHLT’s research activities, and serves as a Conflict of Interest Committee for research activities.

ISHLT engages in the regular development of guidelines, consensus documents, standards statements, and policy statements regarding the care of patients with advanced heart and/or lung disease. The Standards and Guidelines Committee reviews and approves applications to develop standards and guidelines documents and to conduct consensus conferences. The committee also identifies organizations for collaborative activities, reviews Standards and Guidelines Protocol and applications, oversees writing committee progress reports, and reviews all final drafts of S&G documents.

The Statements & Publications Oversight Committee develops recommendations for the Board of Directors related to publications. It ensures ISHLT’s publications portfolio furthers the Society’s strategic plan and meets the needs of its members. It develops, implements, and oversees adherence to policies and contracts governing ISHLT publications, provides guidance and oversight to committee chairs, and reviews policies related to content production, approval, and publication. It coordinates the development, review, and approval of ad-hoc public comments and position statements and serves as a Conflict of Interest Committee for publications.

The International Thoracic Organ Transplant (TTX) Registry was created to provide on-going, current data regarding patient, donor, and transplant characteristics as well as post-transplant outcomes. Our Registry is the only one of its kind. All institutions and countries performing heart, heart-lung, and/or lung transplantation are invited to submit data to the TTX Registry.