Inclusion on the waiting list

The following conditions should be met prior to inclusion on the waiting list:

• Irreversible terminal heart failure that necessitates or will necessitate cardiac transplantation 
• Chronic long-term transplant failure after a previous heart transplant  
• The decision to place a patient on the waiting list should be made jointly by the treating cardiologist, one of the cardiac surgeons performing the transplant and the patient (see below)

Before inclusion on the waiting list, a doctor from the transplant centre has a detailed discussion with the patient that covers the following points:

• Risks and prospects of the transplant
• Technical aspects of the surgery and possible operation risks 
• Medical, social and psychological effects
• Immunosuppression (medications to suppress the body’s own immune defences) and its side effects
• Need for and frequency of regular check-ups after the transplant

Inclusion on the waiting list is not possible in the event of:

• Malignant disease (cancer) that has not been fully cured 
• Clinically overt chronic infectious diseases
• Serious additional diseases (e.g. severe liver disease) that pose a life-threatening risk for the success of transplantation.

The following points should be remembered during the waiting period:

• Regular review of the indication for transplantation at outpatient check-ups (ideally every 3 months)
• Immediate notification of the transplant centre by the patient if he would like to revise his agreement to transplantation.
• Immediate notification of the transplant centre if there is a temporary obstacle to transplantation (e.g. illness, family reasons or travel that cannot be postponed)
• The patient should always be informed of his status on the waiting list (T for “transplantable" / NT for “currently not transplantable“).

A patient who is classified as transplantable on the waiting list must always be contactable day and night by phone, either mobile or landline, from the time he is registered with Eurotransplant. This can be crucial for a transplant. A non-contactable patient may miss the chance of a transplant and thus of a “second life“. For this reason, it is also extremely important that the patient immediately notifies the transplant centre of any change of his telephone numbers.