ABSTRACT
I. Introduction Over the last 40 years, lung transplantation has become an accepted and increasingly utilized therapeutic option for patients with select end-stage lung diseases. With improved perioperative and early transplant outcomes, increasing numbers of patients are undergoing evaluation and listing for lung transplantation. Although the availability of donor lungs has increased since the inception of lung transplantation, the increase has not kept pace with the demand for donor allografts. Scarcity of suitable donor lungs continues to limit patient access to lung transplant procedures and necessitates careful patient selection. With limited organs to transplant, transplant teams aim to maximize patient survival and quality life while accounting for medical urgency. The patient selection process is a crucial first step in improving patient outcomes, as measured in survival benefit and quality of life, through lung transplant procedures.
