The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) is one of the leading international professional organizations focused on improving care and quality of life for patients with severe heart and lung diseases. Since 1981, the organization has brought together cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, pulmonologists, transplant specialists, researchers, nurses, and other healthcare professionals from around the world.
ISHLT plays a significant role in the advancement of medicine through the development of modern transplantation techniques, scientific research, clinical guidelines, and international collaboration. The Society also publishes the highly influential scientific journal The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation and maintains one of the world’s most important global registries of heart and lung transplant outcomes. All of this establishes ISHLT as one of the key international authorities in this field.
In addition to its educational and scientific activities, ISHLT actively supports the professional development of healthcare workers worldwide through grants, awards, and international scholarship programs.
One such initiative is the ISHLT Travel/Visiting Scholarship, which is awarded annually to up to five representatives from different countries. The program funds short-term educational visits, typically lasting several weeks, and includes observation of clinical practice, research activities, and multidisciplinary teamwork.
Despite the limited number of scholarships available, this year one of the beneficiaries was Georgian cardiologist Zviad Kipiani.
In connection with this achievement, Medscriptum contacted Mr. Kipiani and requested his comment.
How would you assess this achievement, and what goals do you see for the future?
“Thank you very much for the congratulations — this is truly a joyful and meaningful moment for me. The goal of this award is to promote the exchange of knowledge and technical expertise in the fields of heart and lung transplantation and the treatment of end-stage heart failure. It is also an excellent opportunity to establish professional relationships between institutions and countries.”
The scholarship may be used in the future to study new techniques in clinical settings, operating rooms, or laboratories, or simply to better understand how other centers address complex clinical challenges.
According to information published on the official ISHLT website, as part of the planned educational visit, Dr. Zviad Kipiani will travel to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, USA.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital is internationally recognized for its multidisciplinary programs in advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support — including ventricular assist devices (LVADs) — and heart transplantation. According to the ISHLT statement:
“Dr. Kipiani will use the scholarship to study with some of the world’s foremost experts and to acquire the latest skills in the management of heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, and transplantation. This educational experience will enable him to observe and learn LVAD implantation and transplantation processes, including the coordination of multidisciplinary teams. He will also participate in patient selection, postoperative management, long-term monitoring, and the integration of VAD coordinators.
Dr. Kipiani hopes that this experience will prove invaluable in the development of similar programs in Georgia.”
Why is this scholarship important for Georgia?
The selection of Dr. Zviad Kipiani as an ISHLT international scholarship recipient is significant for several reasons.
First, it represents international recognition of a Georgian specialist’s professional competence in a highly complex and specialized field such as advanced heart failure and transplant medicine.
Second, the scholarship can be viewed as an indicator of ISHLT’s trust in Georgia as a developing participant in this field.
Considering that in recent years there have already been precedents for LVAD implantation in Georgia and ongoing efforts to introduce this approach more broadly, each new experience gained by a Georgian physician represents a major step forward for the development of the field in the country.
