Heart transplantation has made remarkable strides since its inception in the 1960s. While the transplant volume in the USA has steadily increased over the last decade, significant disparities exist in Europe, fuelled by cultural and legislative differences. Recent advancements such as donation after circulatory death and use of hepatitis C positive donors are embraced to differing degrees among countries. This review serves to summarize the current state and ongoing challenges of heart transplantation in the USA and Europe.
Keywords: Donation after circulatory death; Heart transplantation; Mechanical circulatory support device.
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.