History of Lung Transplantation

Lung transplantation remains the only available therapy for many patients with end-stage lung disease. The number of lung transplants performed has increased significantly, but development of the field was slow compared with other solid-organ transplants. This delayed growth was secondary to the increased complexity of transplanting lungs; the continuous needs for surgical, anesthetics, and critical care improvements; changes in immunosuppression and infection prophylaxis; and donor management and patient selection. The future of lung transplant remains promising: expansion of donor after cardiac death donors, improved outcomes, new immunosuppressants targeted to cellular and antibody-mediated rejection, and use of xenotransplantation or artificial lungs.