RETRACTED: History of heart transplantation, the resurgence of DCD heart donations and outcomes following transplantation; the Royal Papworth Experience (Retracted Article)

Human heart transplantation started more than half a century ago. The Royal Papworth Hospital, in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, where this procedure has been performed for more than four decades, has pioneered the resurgence of Donor Circulatory Death (DCD) heart transplantation, acknowledging the fact that the first transplant performed by Dr. Christian Barnard was from a DCD donor. The history of this procedure, the work carried out towards establishing a robust and successful DCD heart transplant program and the outcomes of the first fifty DCD heart transplants are described and discussed.