Glimmer of hope for “active” lung transplant patients

In a trial to improve the overall survival, lung transplants will now be given to patients who need them most rather than to patients who have been waiting for long, state new rules.

Lung transplants are required in patients whose lungs fail because of emphysema, cystic fibrosis or other, less common diseases, thus reducing the survival span.

Under the new technique, a nationwide waiting list is maintained after combining all regional level waiting lists.

A status according to the urgency in transplant is awarded to all patients. As soon as the patients condition deteriorates his status is changed to ‘active’ and the numerical score shots him to the top of the list. Thus, making the donor available in about less than a days time.

Earlier, patients who had been on the waiting list for the longer time period were operated upon for lung transplant, irrespective of the fact whether they require it immediately or not.

But according to the new rules, starting May 2005, patients who need transplant most are put on the top of the list leaving behind the ones who still have a good chance of survival without transplant.

The waiting list that went upto two years or more earlier, gave little hope of survival to patients who developed such fatal disease suddenly.

Also taking credit, is the science and medicine that has now been able to save and make available more lungs from cadavers which earlier were lost due to lack in techniques.

Doctors have also figured out new ways to salvage lungs that were previously considered unusable. Also, large number of people are donating their lungs and becoming organ doners.

Stats show that the improvement in retrieving lungs from organ donors at some centers has gone up from 15 to 40 percent. For example in Minnesota only, the figure for retrieving lungs for transplant went up from 25 to 97 in one year, Herrington said.

The new drugs, respirators and other techniques thus led to 1,405 lung transplants in 2005 as against 1,157 a year ago, thereby, reducing the number of people dieing on the waiting list from 488 in 2004 to 360 in 2005.

Cynthia Herrington, a surgeon at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in Minneapolis quoted the whole experience as amazing and said, “It's almost as if it's a whole new day for lung transplantation. It's amazing."