Post-operative Outcomes in Infants Undergoing ABO Incompatible Heart Transplantation in the US.

Abstract Background ABO incompatible heart transplant is a method to increase the infant donor pool. There remains limited data on long term survival and rejection after ABO incompatible heart transplant in recent era. Methods United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was queried for infant heart transplants performed from January 2008 to March 2020. Patient demographics and known risk factors for post-transplant mortality were collected. Statistical analysis using Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) was performed to evaluate the association of ABO incompatibility and overall survival, graft survival, acute rejection episodes and length of stay. Results A total of 1,368 infants (age Conclusions ABO incompatible infant heart transplant does not affect post-transplant survival, incidence of rejection, or postoperative length of stay. Therefore, it remains a viable and important strategy to increase the infant donor pool.