Abstract
Lung transplantation is an established therapeutic method for treating advanced pulmonary diseases of parenchymal or vascular origins. The patients indicated for lung transplantation include those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibroses, cystic fibrosis and other diagnoses.
The selection of candidates for transplantation, the preliminary examinations and the care for the candidates on waiting lists are all in the hands of pneumologists. Around 80 patients are examined and considered for transplantation per year in the Czech Republic, around 50% of them are entered into waiting lists and there are around 20 actual transplantations performed each year.
The survival rates after lung transplantation in the Czech Republic are comparable to other countries, with around 50% rate of survival 5 years after the procedure. The main risk in the early stages following a transplantation is the possibility of the implant being rejected, along with severe infections.
In the long term, chronic rejection is the main limiting factor. Another limitation is the lack of suitable donors - in the future, the situation should be improved by the newly adopted method of ex vivo perfusion and recondition of the lungs.