[Ten questions about heart transplantation (considerations 40 years after the first heart transplant in Italy)]

Forty years after the first heart transplant in Italy, this paper offers some considerations about those aspects that may be of interest for a wider community than that represented by those (healthcare professionals, patients and families) that are directly involved. In the process of organ donation and transplantation (especially regarding the heart, that has strong anthropological and cultural implications), there is an interplay of medicine and surgery with ethical and social issues. The authors describe these interactions from their point of view, being aware that they may not find universal agreement. Anyway, they hope to contribute to increase the willingness of the medical and cardiological community to analyze more in-depth the open questions regarding organ donation and heart transplantation: a larger number of participants to the discussion will undoubtedly help in finding better solutions for the present and the future.