Recipient-surgeon racial concordance in orthotopic heart transplantation outcomes.

Background: Prior studies have demonstrated deleterious outcomes for physician-patient racial discordance. We explored recipient-surgeon racial concordance and short-term postoperative survival in adults undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT).

Methods: The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was queried to identify White and Black adult (≥18 years) patients undergoing isolated OHT between 2000 and 2020.

Diversity in the Adult and Pediatric Heart Transplant Surgeon Workforce between 2000 and 2020.

There is a paucity of literature evaluating trends in the demographic composition of the cardiothoracic surgery workforce. Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we retrospectively analyzed the changes in sex, race, and ethnicity of surgeons performing heart transplantations between 2000−2020. Surgeons performing heart transplantations for adult (≥18 years) and pediatric (<18 years) patients between 2000−2020 were identified and stratified by sex (male, female) and by race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian, Hispanic of any race).

Immune Privilege of Heart Valves.

Immune privilege is an evolutionary adaptation that protects vital tissues with limited regenerative capacity from collateral damage by the immune response. Classical examples include the anterior chamber of the eye and the brain. More recently, the placenta, testes and articular cartilage were found to have similar immune privilege.