COVID-19 is driving the increasing need for lung transplants in the US

The need for lung transplants in the United States has risen due to COVID-19, with 10% of all lung transplants now needed to treat those affected by the virus.

C OVID-19 is causing an increasing need for lung transplants in the United States. According to data from the United Network for Organ Transplants (UNOS), one in 10 of all lung transplants are now required to treat patients impacted by the virus.

Dr Selim M. Arcasoy, Medical Program Director of the Lung Transplant Program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, stated that those who contract COVID-19 may develop very severe pneumonia, leading them to require either high flow oxygen support or even mechanical ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) support. He noted that some of these patients recover partially, but if they remain stuck with pulmonary fibrosis – resulting in chronic hypoxemic respiratory failure – they become candidates for a transplant.