Welcome Message
Welcome to the Lung Transplant Week at the ATS. Over the last several decades, significant improvements in lung transplant outcomes have been achieved due to changes in donor and recipient selection, use of various lung donor preservation technologies, peri-operative management and improved monitoring and management post-operative complications. 2020 serve a major challenge to the entire health care industry, but due to the critical nature of needing to provide essential transplant services, many transplant centers continued to offer lung transplantation as an essential treatment option despite the SARS-COV-2 pandemic logistic constraints. Although there was a 6.4% decrease on the number of lung transplants performed in 2020 by comparison to 2019, it still meant 2,539 patients were successfully transplanted per United Network of Organ Sharing. Many of the survivors of COVID-19 ARDS or Pulmonary Fibrosis may be hearing lung transplant as an option to the already known indications such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (with or without alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency), cystic fibrosis/bronchiectasis, interstitial lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension. COVID-19 ARDS and Pulmonary Fibrosis survivors may be combatting medical co-morbidities such a weakness, deep vein thromboses, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe fatigue as they are recuperating. Lung transplant programs are actively problem solving to allow for this critical therapeutic option that has increased needs while also addressing the health disparities that has been highlighted in 2020. Advanced in lung transplantation will be achieved with sharing of best practices, collaboration among different lung transplant center health plans and ATS PAR partners, such as the Lung Transplant Foundation. We look forward to sharing more about lung transplant during this week.
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Kamyar Afshar, DO |
Jeff Goldstein |
Jennifer Mefford |
ATS Lung Transplant Week Partners
The Lung Transplant Foundation (LTF) was founded as a non-profit organization by a group of lung transplant recipients from Durham and Chapel Hill, NC. These recipients from Duke University and UNC Hospitals realized promotion and funding of research to improve the post lung transplant experience and long term outcomes was severely lacking, so they created the LTF to tackle one of the most difficult and life-threatening issues facing transplant recipients, chronic rejection or bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS).
Founded in 2000 by brothers Albert Rose and Michael Rosenzweig, PhD, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying effective PF treatments and assisting those living with the disease. The brothers experienced firsthand the devastating effects of PF when their sister Claire passed away from the disease. Both brothers were also diagnosed with PF, and it was their vision and dedication that led to the creation of the Foundation.
