ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The initial attempts at human lung transplantation began forty years ago and
were met with no long-term success. However, in the last twenty years lung trans plantation has enjoyed increasing success and has become the mainstay of therapy for most forms of end-stage lung disease. Improved donor and recipient selec tion, technical advances, superior immunosuppressive strategies, and newer anti biotic regimens have improved results significantly. The operative mortality rate is now in the range of 9%. One, 2 and 5-year survival rates are 80%, 70% and 50% respectively. The Registry of the International Society for Heart and Lung Trans plantation reported in 2002 that almost 15,000 lung transplants have been per formed worldwide and that more than 1,500 lung transplants are performed annually.1