ABSTRACT
I. Introduction Lung transplantation, like many other solid organ transplantation, requires a dedicated multidisciplinary team and a wide variety of support personnel to be efficient and successful. However, there is very little information that exists regarding what structure or design a lung transplant program should have, and what type of support is required to be successful. In the United States, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) expects certain manpower and service requirements to be in place to be recognized as a lung transplant program, and programs are frequently audited for their performance (1). Similarly, to be certified by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for reimbursement, there are expectations that include minimum number of transplants performed and survival outcomes (2). Outside the United States few regulatory guidelines exist. This may be due to the structure under which health care is provided in these countries. Considering the continued growth of lung transplant programs around the world and because of the unusual and rigorous scrutiny solid organ transplantation programs are subject to, an effective design and efficient process is necessary to be successful. In this chapter, I will attempt to present the ways this could be achieved from current information available, common practices, and our personal experiences.
