General Information

What has gone wrong?

The heart is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood throughout the body.
In heart failure, however, the heart struggles to pump sufficient blood.
Heart Failure can occur due to several health problems that damage or overwork the heart.
The heart becomes weakened or stiff. When the heart is weakened or stiff, it cannot effectively fill with blood between beats, meaning it cannot pump out enough blood to meet the body's needs for oxygen and nutrients, resulting in reduced blood flow throughout the body;

In a heart transplant, the failing heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a donor.
Before the procedure, two or more healthcare professionals must confirm the donor is brain dead.
You will be placed under general anesthesia and connected to a ventilator to assist with breathing. The surgeon will insert tubes into your chest, allowing a heart-lung machine to take over the role of circulating blood while your heart is being replaced.
The surgeon then carefully connects the donor’s heart by suturing the major veins and arteries of both the recipient and donor together.

Mayo Clinic - Bullet Point Information (Easy to understand)
Johns Hopkins - Steps of the procedure
American Heart Association - Information on if your child is a heart transplant recipient
NHS UK - Patient stories
Cleveland Clinic - Description of the disease that causes the need for a heart transplant
Mount Sinai - Information on when heart transplant is not used
Cleveland Clinic - Video on interesting facts about heart transplantation