The “Burst” of Pulmonary Transplantation: Thirty Years of Progress

Abstract

Compared to other major organs such as the kidney, liver, and heart, transplantation of the lung has not enjoyed widespread application until just recently. Despite the first attempts at both experimental and clinical pulmonary transplantation coinciding with those for other major organs, clinical success with the lung did not keep pace with that for these other organs. In fact, a long string of failures resulted in virtual abandonment of lung transplantation by 1978. This short review will recount the history of lung transplantation, the principal causes of the spectacular early failures, the advances which heralded in the modern era of pulmonary transplantation, and the refinements that permitted the burst of activity that has occurred over the last five years. Finally, the formidable challenges that now threaten to cause the “burst ” to implode will be presented.