The American Heart Association has announced the launch of its first-ever heart transplant research network, selecting 14 medical research centers and a coordinating center to create a national infrastructure aimed at improving outcomes for heart transplant patients. The initiative, announced June 3, 2026, seeks to address long-standing gaps in innovation, equity, and patient outcomes in heart transplant care, nearly 60 years after the first successful heart transplant.
According to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, about 4,500 heart transplantations were performed in the U.S., the most in any year, yet more than 3,700 people remained on the waiting list in 2025. “Despite decades of breakthrough advances in cardiovascular medicine, the system supporting heart transplantation has remained largely unchanged,” said Dr. Mariell Jessup, the Association’s chief science and medical officer, in a press release. “This is one of the most high-stakes areas in medicine, yet innovation has lagged far behind.”
The network will focus on three key pillars: a global heart transplant data infrastructure, a research network for breakthrough science, and a coordinated path forward modeled after the Association’s Get With The Guidelines program. The data infrastructure will develop a comprehensive, harmonized database allowing real-time insights to support research and quality improvement. Research will target earlier detection of transplant rejection, remote monitoring technologies, viral surveillance, and safer therapies. Planning grants will accelerate clinical trials into immune tolerance and chronic rejection.
The coordinating center will be led by Dr. Emilia Bagiella at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Other centers include Baylor College of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Columbia University, Duke University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Medical University of South Carolina, Stanford University, University of California San Diego, University of Colorado Denver, University of Pennsylvania, University of Utah, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Grants begin July 1, 2026, and run for four years.
The initiative is critical because heart transplant care has been hindered by fragmented data systems, limited research investment, and inconsistent outcomes, especially among Black patients and children. “By bringing together this exceptional data, research and clinical expertise, the Heart Association can help accelerate discoveries and translate them into better care for every patient, no matter who they are or where they live,” Jessup said.
For patients and families, the network represents hope for safer treatments and personalized care. The American Heart Association has funded more than $6.1 billion in cardiovascular research since 1949, making it the largest non-profit supporter of heart and brain health research in the U.S. A recent Annenberg Policy Center poll found that 82% of U.S. adults are confident in the Association to provide trustworthy health information.
