The first heart transplant in the United States on an adult took place in 1968 at Stanford University. Because few patients lived for any length of time, many medical centers abandoned the procedure, until the 1980s when the use of cyclosporine improved the odds of survival. The drug suppresses the body's ability to reject the donor organ.

Today, there are 127 heart transplant centers in the country and the 10-year survival rate for a heart transplant patient is 50 percent, compared to someone with advanced heart failure who has a 50 percent chance of being alive after one year.