[Current status and future of lung transplantation]

Lung transplantation has been a widely accepted treatment modality for patients with end-stage chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). COPD is the most frequent indication for lung transplantation according to the report from International Society for Lung and Heart Transplantation. However, it is a minor population in Japan. A total of 204 lung transplants have been performed in Japan to date. Among them, 10 patients were suffering from severe COPD. Nine of them received cadaveric lung transplantation and one received living-donor lobar lung transplantation. All are currently alive during follow-up period of 3-87 months.