Lung and Heart/Lung Transplantation

Lung and Heart/Lung Transplantation

Lung Transplant: Volume

2017 – 2021

Cleveland Clinic is one of the busiest lung transplant centers in the world, performing 579 lung transplants from 2017 through 2021. Cleveland Clinic surgeons performed 96 lung transplant procedures in 2021.

Source: Cleveland Clinic Transplant Center database

Lung Transplant: Primary Disease of Recipients

Transplants Done July 1, 2020 — June 30, 2021

Cleveland Clinic surgeons perform lung transplant procedures for patients with a variety of lung diseases. In this reporting period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, the majority (58%) of the 119 lung recipients had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Source: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, January 6, 2022. srtr.org

Lung Transplant: 1-Month and 1-Year Survival

July 1, 2018 — March 12, 2020, June 13, 2020 — December 31, 2020ᵃ

The 1-year graft and patient survival rates at Cleveland Clinic were slightly below the expected level.

SRTR = Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients

Source: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, January 6, 2022. srtr.org

ᵃFluctuations in 2020 volumes are a result of significant changes to the number of patients treated, which can be directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lung Transplant: Wait Time

Candidates on the Wait-List from July 1, 2015 — December 31, 2020

The median wait time for a lung transplant at Cleveland Clinic was 2.3 months for the candidates wait-listed from July 1, 2015 through December 31, 2020. This is same as the average wait time at other centers throughout the US and quicker than the average wait time in Region.

Source: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, January 6, 2022. srtr.org

ᵃIndiana, Michigan, and Ohio

Lung Transplant: Wait-List Mortality Rate

July 1, 2019 — March 12, 2020, June 13, 2020 — June 30, 2020ᵃ

Cleveland Clinic has an aggressive posture toward evaluating and listing extremely sick and high-risk candidates. Cleveland Clinic evaluates donor organs and utilizes advanced strategies such as Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) to make more donor lungs available for transplant. The wait-list mortality rate during this period was higher than expected.

Source: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, January 6, 2022. srtr.org

ᵃFluctuations in 2020 volumes are a result of significant changes to the number of patients treated, which can be directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.