Lung Transplant News and Research

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A pulmonary transplant (or lung transplant) is a surgical procedure in which a diseased lung is removed and replaced with a healthy lung from a donor. A lung transplant will often be recommended if a person has advanced lung disease that is unresponsive to other treatments and/or when a person's life expectancy is likely less than 2-3 years. A lung transplant is considered for those suffering from the following conditions:

UChicago Medicine launches clinical trial to explore plasma transfusions for COVID-19 patients

The University of Chicago Medicine is launching a clinical trial to study whether blood plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 can be used to treat patients who are still in the hospital with severe disease symptoms.

13 Apr 2020

Deadly infection in cystic fibrosis could be curbed with combination medication

Researchers from Aston University and Birmingham Children’s Hospital have developed a new medication regimen that could successfully treat a bacterial infection that could prove fatal to patients with cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis. The results of the new study were published in the latest issue of the journal Scientific Reports.

27 Jan 2020

New drug combination destroys bacterial infection that can be fatal to cystic fibrosis patients

A new treatment developed by researchers at Aston University and Birmingham Children's Hospital has been found to completely kill a bacterial infection that can be deadly to cystic fibrosis patients.

24 Jan 2020

Study may lead to increased use of donor hearts for transplantation

A new study provides hope that the number of children dying on the transplantation list while waiting for a new heart could potentially be reduced dramatically.

6 Jan 2020

In campaign to stop teen vaping, states turn to tried-and-true remedy: taxes

Kathleen Hambleton once used to spend $100 a week on Marlboro Reds.

10 Dec 2019

No differences found in survival, acute rejection in patients receiving lungs from increased-risk donors

Cleveland Clinic researchers have found that using lungs from donors who are considered high risk for certain infectious diseases compared to standard risk donors results in similar one-year survival for recipients. In addition, researchers saw no difference in rejection or graft (donor lung) survival after one year in patients receiving lungs from increased-risk donors.

5 Dec 2019

California surprise-billing law protects patients but aggravates many doctors

More than two years after California's surprise-billing law took effect, there's one thing on which consumer advocates, doctors and insurers all agree: The law has been effective at protecting many people from bills they might have been saddled with from doctors who aren't in their insurance network.

5 Dec 2019

New treatment approach could improve outcomes for people with cystic fibrosis

A new approach to treating people with cystic fibrosis (CF) has been shown to reduce inflammation, which has the potential to reduce the need for lung transplants and lower the risk of death.

3 Dec 2019

For artist inspired by illness, ‘gratitude outweighs pain’

People often ask Dylan Mortimer how it feels to breathe through transplanted lungs. He gets that a lot because while most people go through life with one pair of lungs, Mortimer is on his third.

2 Dec 2019

New research case report describes lung injury related to e-cigarette use

A research case report describing lung injury related to e-cigarette use in a 17-year-old Canadian may be the first documented case of a new form of damage from vaping products.

21 Nov 2019

Vaping could cause life-threatening effects

Since vaping and e-cigarettes have become more popular over the last several years, many patients-;particularly during conversations about quitting smoking- have asked me, "Is vaping okay?" or "Is vaping safe?"

18 Nov 2019

Inhaled immunosuppressant could improve prognosis of lung transplant patients

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers found that lung transplant recipients who had early signs of organ rejection could increase their chances of survival by using an inhaled form of the immunosuppression drug cyclosporine.

13 Nov 2019

Combination therapy shows promise for transplanting HCV-infected organs

Data from a new study presented this week at The Liver Meeting – held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases – found that combination therapy with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and ezetimibe.

8 Nov 2019

The air ambulance billed more than his surgeon did for a lung transplant

Before his double lung transplant, Tom Saputo thought he had anticipated every possible outcome.

6 Nov 2019

Penn researcher-led study aims to improve long-term outcomes of lung transplants

Lung transplantation can be a life-extending option, but severe postoperative complications-including reduced lung function caused by organ rejection-often affect a recipients' quality of life and limit long-term survival.

17 Oct 2019

Drug combination could improve survival of lung transplant patients

Lung transplantation can prolong the lives of patients with end-stage lung disease, but the median survival rate after lung transplant is less than six years, which has improved only slightly in recent decades.

28 Aug 2019

UW Medicine achieves milestone of 1,000 lung transplants

UW Medicine's lung-transplant team, the only such providers in the Pacific Northwest, performed their 1,000th transplant on July 7, 2019. Ten other U.S. programs have reached such a milestone.

8 Aug 2019

TFLH, BHF and NHSBT highlight the need for heart and lung emojis

This World Emoji Day (17 July), the British Heart Foundation, Taskforce for Lung Health and NHS Blood and Transplant are highlighting the need for heart and lung organ emojis.

19 Jul 2019

Orlando Health ORMC offers new lung valve treatment for patients with severe emphysema

Difficulty breathing is becoming easier for patients at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center. Orlando HealthORMC is the first hospital in Central Florida to offer a new lung valve treatment for patients with severe emphysema, a progressive and life-threatening form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

15 Jul 2019

UVA launches Fibrosis Initiative to fight the growing cause of death

Fibrosis is often associated with many of the fatal diseases that pervade our globe, riddling organs with stiff tissue that diminishes their flexibility and leads to their failure.

21 Jun 2019