Cyclosporine (CsA) is frequently initiated as induction therapy in patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplantation, but our experience has identified a significant rate of post-operative renal dysfunction. We therefore devised a renal-sparing cyclosporine-free induction regimen consisting of the early administration basiliximab, an interleukin-2 receptor monoclonal antibody, followed by the late initiation of cyclosporine on post-operative Day 4.