Qualifying Conditions
Lung transplantation is the therapeutic measure of last resort for patients with end-stage lung disease who have exhausted all other available treatments without improvement. A variety of conditions may make such surgery necessary. As of 2005, the most common reasons for lung transplantation in the United States were:
- 27% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema;
- 16% idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis;
- 14% cystic fibrosis;
- 12% idiopathic (formerly known as "primary") pulmonary hypertension;
- 5% alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency;
- 2% replacing previously transplanted lungs that have since failed;
- 24% other causes, including bronchiectasis and sarcoidosis.
Read more about this topic: Lung Transplantation
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“The depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves. People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life, for only then do they have to fall back on their reserves.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)