About Us

Our Lung Transplant Program is one of the country's most successful. We've performed over 1,000 lung transplants since 1988, and consistently rank among the top programs nationally for the number completed each year.

We are the busiest thoracic transplant center in the West and the second busiest in the country. We also excel in heart transplant and heart/lung transplant.

Why Choose UCLA for Lung Transplant?

Many patients choose our program because of the experience and reputation of our transplant team. We offer a unique blend of top care and leading research:

• Team approach: We're known for our highly specialized and comprehensive team approach to lung transplant care. Learn more about our team, which includes transplant pulmonologists and cardiothoracic surgeons.
• Latest treatments: UCLA is a dynamic environment for innovation and research. Learn more about our newest technologies in the operating room: "breathing lung" transplant and "beating heart" transplant.

• Complex cases: We regularly perform successful transplants for patients deemed ineligible at other centers. We have pioneered procedures for higher-risk, more complex patients, such as those who:

  • Are older than 70
  • Had previous malignancies
  • Have graft-versus-host disease
  • Have connective tissue diseases
  • Need multiple organs transplanted, such as lung and liver

• Exceptional outcomes: Our outcomes help us stand apart from other programs:

  • Our patients' one-year survival is 93 percent, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).
  • We regularly meet or exceed one-month, one-year and three-year graft and patient survival rates.
  • When re-transplantation is necessary, we have a strong record of success.

• Comprehensive care: When lung transplant patients also have heart problems, we can perform combined surgeries, adding on procedures such as valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). We also provide comprehensive care and novel therapies for a range of lung diseases:

  • Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)
  • Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
  • Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Personalized medicine: Our care isn't one-size-fits-all. We provide highly personalized patient care. And we offer support groups for patients, run by social workers, spanning conditions from interstitial lung disease to pulmonary hypertension. Read more about our approach to care.

Highly Specialized Lung Transplant Capabilities

We offer lung transplant for many patients, even those turned down by other programs. We have the resources and expertise to successfully perform lung transplant in complex cases.

Our specializations include:

• Patients on the scleroderma spectrum: Only a few centers accept patients with scleroderma and other connective tissue disorders. Our team has successfully transplanted these patients.

• Patients who need lung transplant and a cardiac procedure: Some cardiac defects make patients ineligible for lung transplant. However, our surgeons can transplant the lung and repair the heart defect during the same procedure. For example, our surgeons can perform cardiac bypass surgery along with lung transplantation.

• Patients who require ECMO: For certain patients, we can use ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) to oxygenate the blood and sustain very ill patients as transplant candidates while they await an organ.

• Patients who require bridge to transplant: We can successfully transplant patients, even those who have factors such as respiratory failure, right-side heart failure due to pulmonary hypertension, intubation or mechanical ventilation.

Innovative Care to Expand Transplant Opportunities

We are known as a leading clinical hospital, and researchers at UCLA and across the nation turn to us to test the latest innovations that lead to new treatments. Some of our recent work includes:

• Expanding donor organ availability: We have expertise in accepting donor organs that might not be usable by other centers. This approach means we can offer transplantation sooner - with less time waiting for a lung, and lower waiting-list mortality than national averages.

• Bringing "breathing lung" technology into the operating room: We performed the first "breathing lung" transplant, and we're leading work to bring "beating heart" transplant technology into the operating room.

• Research and trials: Because UCLA combines an academic campus and a hospital, we can offer you breakthroughs and clinical trials quickly. Our scientific work has expanded knowledge in the field and improved clinical results for all patients.

One of the Few Centers Performing Lung Re-Transplantation

Due to donor availability or clinical concerns, the majority of transplant programs do not offer re-transplantation. We are one of the few programs that routinely perform lung re-transplantation, bringing hope to patients who have already had a transplant.

Our program evaluates patients referred by dedicated physicians and advocates from all over the country. Schedule an evaluation appointment