A Breath of Fresh Air
A young, athletic woman has her breath taken away—literally—only to find a new lease on life with new lungs.
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Contact Information
Massachusetts General Hospital
55 Fruit Street
Boston,
MA
02114
Phone: 800-876-5864
Support the Lung Transplant Program
Your gift enables our team at the Transplant Center to pursue advanced medical and surgical interventions to treat patients in need of lung transplant.Founded in 1990, the Lung Transplant Program at Massachusetts General Hospital was the first Medicare-approved lung transplant program in New England. Our major milestones include:
We perform transplants from both living and deceased donors and maintain the region’s largest Living Donor Program.
The primary goal of lung transplantation is to help patients live longer, better quality lives. At the Transplant Center, we bring together a personal care team of lung disease specialists to provide comprehensive treatment for every patient. This team meets regularly with patients and referring physicians and includes:
The goal for every patient is to optimize his or her lifestyle and offer the best possible outcomes. All patients are carefully evaluated to see if they are candidates for transplant or if their condition can be managed through alternative interventions, including:
Unlike other organ transplantation programs, which apply a seniority method to determine a patient’s position on the organ donor list, the Lung Transplant Program utilizes a unique system based on patients’ transplant urgency. This mathematical model, called the lung allocation score system and used by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), ensures that patients who most need a lung transplant receive priority over those in better health.
Our dedicated team of transplantation management experts offers comprehensive treatment for patients who require transplantation due to a variety of conditions, including:
All lung transplant candidates work with a transplant coordinator, who lays the groundwork for their initial evaluation by gathering their medical information, previous test results and patient medical history, including prior hospitalizations.
The coordinator then manages the patient evaluation, which includes:
Our patients’ care teams work with them and their local physician to address health care issues that might develop as they wait for transplant. We help our patients maintain the highest quality of life possible through the use of supplemental oxygen and prescribed medications.
We also provide a dedicated referral line for patients and referring physicians to be connected with an experienced access coordinator, a clinician who helps assess patient needs, coordinate appointments and begin the appropriate testing regimen. All calls will be returned within 24 hours.
Our commitment to our patients’ wellbeing extends to their postoperative needs and includes help coordinating their care following discharge. We are very involved in our patients’ physical recovery support them as they transition back to their regular lives following transplant.
The Lung Transplant Program is a regional research center with an active clinical trials program in both lung transplantation and many of the diseases that cause the need for transplantation. Developing technologies include:
The Center for Outcomes & Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS) ensures that surgical data is transparent and accessible for patients. Watch the video to view Mass General's performance for procedures to treat conditions of the lungs.
The Mass General Lung Transplant team guides patients through every stage of care with a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, case managers, financial coordinators and other clinicians to help navigate the transplant process.
Mass General is recognized as a leader in patient care, education and research, and ranks among the most prestigious medical institutions.
If you are visiting Boston, either as a patient or to visit a patient, these resources can help you plan your trip.
A young, athletic woman has her breath taken away—literally—only to find a new lease on life with new lungs.
If you would like to request an appointment or refer a patient, please use the following contact information.