Less than 25 years since the first human-human heart transplantation, the worldwide experience exceeds 16,000 heart and 1600 lung transplantations from more than 200 centers. Excellent results in heart transplantation have been achieved in a wide variety of patients. During the past few years, lung transplantation has come of age. The specific indications for each technique continue to evolve. Although much progress has been made, it is hoped that future developments in immunosuppression will solve the problems of chronic rejection and decrease the risk of infections. On behalf of the Society, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each of the participants throughout the world who took the time and care to submit their data to the Registry. Through this compilation of the world's experience, the state of the art in thoracic transplantation may be shared with the transplant community. The extensive Registry data base will permit risk assessment of thoracic transplant recipients while avoiding the problems associated with small sample sizes. Each participant's continued diligence in providing follow-up reports on all recipients is essential for an accurate evaluation of the long-term prognosis of heart and lung transplantation.