In the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), growing evidence has shown that HIV infection is not a contraindication for solid organ transplantation. There have been positive outcomes reported in HIV-infected patients who have undergone liver or renal transplants but there is a paucity of data regarding heart transplant recipients (HTRs). This study compared the outcomes of heart transplantations in HIV-positive and HIV-negative recipients. The authors used data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). The SRTR includes information on all donors, wait-listed candidates, and transplant recipients in the U.S. based on submissions by members of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). All patients who received a heart transplant over the age of 18 were included in this analysis. The median age of the HIV group was 54 years and 71% were male. Median age in the HIV-negative group was 56 years and 75% were male. Patients were followed from date of transplantation until the end of year 5, graft failure, re-transplantation, or death. Patient survival, overall graft survival and death-censored graft survival were compared between HIV-positive and HIV-negative recipients. From 2004-2016, there were 35 HIV-infected persons who underwent a heart transplant and 21,400 HIV-negative heart transplant recipients. There were no significant differences in patient survival (88% vs 77%) or overall graft survival (85% vs 76%) between HIV-positive and HIV-negative HTRs in 5-years of follow-up. This study supports the use of heart transplants in medically appropriate HIV-positive patients.

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