Transplantation Program

• Lung transplantation for patients with CF has been offered at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview since 1989.

• The Lung Transplant program at the University of Minnesota accumulated a wealth of experience since its inception. This transplant program has performed over 500 lung transplants of which 10% occurred in CF patients.

• The scarcity of available organs for transplantation determines a fairly long waiting period once accepted for transplantation, and unfortunately not every patient can tolerate this. Thus, timely referral for evaluation is a key towards a successful outcome.

• For those CF patients who underwent transplantation, their one-year survival rate has been 82% and the 5-year survival rate has been 64%. These figures compare quite favorably with the national experience with transplantation for CF or all indications, where the 5-year survival rates reported are about 50%.

• The average waiting time for transplantation for these patients has been 13.6 ± 4.78 months, and has ranged from 12 to 30 months. Waiting time to transplant will likely change after May of 2005 when the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) implemented a new organ allocation system by  which lungs are assigned to the sickest patients. (For further information refer to the UNOS web site www.unos.org)

While progress in anti-rejection therapy development has been continuous, we attribute our success in great part to an intensive pre- and post- transplant management program. This includes very close monitoring of pulmonary function and nutritional parameters, with prompt interventions to correct or control problems. These complex patients, with multi-system involvement, benefit from our comprehensive management program, which includes aggressive use of antibiotics, respiratory therapy, physical rehabilitation, ongoing teaching, and multidisciplinary team participation.

For more detailed information about our lung transplant program please visit our website www.Fairviewtransplant.org/Lung or contact Jackie Zirbes, CPNP, CF Lung Transplant Coordinator.