Lung Transplantation
Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was - Richard L. Evans
image by: Lung Transplant Project
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Supply Isn’t the Problem With Organ Transplants
One of the first things that transplant doctors learn is that there are not enough organs to go around. We repeat it to our patients and ourselves and, in a way, it helps us to temper our expectations of saving every patient on our waiting list. But there isn’t really an organ shortage. We are just failing to make effective use of the organs that we could transplant.
I’ve worked in transplant programs for 25 years in Dallas, Birmingham and Denver, and then as director of the lung transplant program at Stanford University Medical Center. For the last three years, I’ve been a consultant to several transplant programs around the country.
The good news is that the number…
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Lab-grown pig lungs are great news for the future of organ transplantation
Thousands of Americans every year undergo lung transplantation in order to replace organs failing for one of dozens of reasons. But these tissues are incredibly fragile, and the five-year survival rate for a lung transplant is only around 50 to 60 percent.
Recent advances in lung transplantation
Lung transplantation can improve quality of life and prolong survival for individuals with end-stage lung disease, and many advances in the realms of both basic science and clinical research aspects of lung transplantation have emerged over the past few decades. However, many challenges must yet be overcome to increase post-transplant survival.
Surviving A Double-Lung Transplant: 'Life Is Good'
As a child, Howell Graham was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that often impairs lung function. By his late 20s, Howell would lose his breath doing things as routine as brushing his teeth. So he underwent a risky operation — in 1990, he had a double lung transplant. And today, Howell, 49, is one of the longest-surviving recipients of that surgery. Recently, Howell and his mother, Nan, talked about a few moments when it seemed like he might not make it.
'Lung In A Box' Keeps Organs Breathing Before Transplants
The hope is that the lung in a box and its heart equivalent will one day increase the success rates of transplants, Ardehali says, by extending the life of an organ outside the body. Then doctors could spend more time finding a perfect match for the lung or heart. And the organs could be transported farther distances.
Getting A New Lung Facts About Lung Transplants
Because many lung diseases worsen slowly, or respond to different therapies, the transplant center may want to review any lung biopsy samples that were done earlier. They may look at the pattern of your breathing tests over time. They will also review imaging or x-ray studies of your chest and other organs to evaluate your lung disease and be sure you do not have other health conditions that might prevent a successful transplant.
How CEO Martine Rothblatt Turns Moonshots Into Earthshots
Forbes sat down with Rothblatt to hear about her effort to save lungs awaiting transplants, how her company became the largest pig cloner in the world, the moonshot she still wants to work on and advice for launching a new company.
Only 1 in 5 donated lungs can actually save lives. These pigs could change the odds.
A new method for keeping lung tissue viable.
What It’s Like to Get a Double Lung Transplant in Your 20s
I’m a typical 29-year-old girl: I love makeup, I love to shop and do outdoorsy things. I also happen to have cystic fibrosis, which is a terrible, life-threatening lung and digestive disease. I had to have a life-saving double lung transplant for it on November 30, 2016.
Why This Man Was Refused a New Lung
People with HIV are still excluded from some life-saving organ transplants, based on guidelines that omit the most current science.
Supply Isn’t the Problem With Organ Transplants
After three good opportunities went by without lungs arriving for our patient, I had to inform her—with her two young children nearby—that she had run out of time. I was heartbroken, knowing that her death was avoidable.
International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation
The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the science and treatment of end-stage heart and lung diseases.
Second Wind Lung Transplant Association
If you have been fortunate enough to receive the "Gift of Life", you are among a small but growing number of people. You are invited to join us, share your experience and gain insight into how others manage post-transplant life.
The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, the official publication of the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation, brings readers essential clinical information about the rapidly evolving field of cardiopulmonary transplantation, support, and replacement.
MayoClinic
Find out what you need to do to receive a lung transplant '' including the transplant process and how to take care of your new organ.
MedlinePlus
Lung transplants are used for people who are likely to die from lung disease within 1 to 2 years. Their conditions are so severe that other treatments, such as medicines or breathing devices, no longer work.
StatPearls
Pioneered in the 1960s, and successfully implemented in the 1980s, with a declining number of candidates since the 1990s, simultaneous heart and lung transplantation is only indicated for patients in the end stages of both cardiac and pulmonary failure.
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