Belgian milestone: UZ Leuven carries out 1,500th lung transplant

An average of 70 lung transplants are performed at UZ Leuven every year - accounting for about two-thirds of all lung transplants in our country. Since the start of the care programme in 1991, as many as 1267 double, 160 single and 73 combined lung transplants, such as heart-lung, lung-kidney, lung-liver or even heart-lung-liver were performed. Most lung transplants are performed on middle-aged people, but at UZ Leuven, 25 children now also received a successful transplant. This makes UZ Leuven one of the few centres where this is possible. 

Collaboration as the key to succes

The success of the Leuven lung transplant programme is in part thanks to the intense collaboration between surgeons, pulmonologists, anaesthesiologists, intensivists and numerous paramedics, such as nurses, transplant coordinators, psychologists and rehabilitation experts. This integrated approach ensure not only an optimal preparation and follow-up of patients but also delivers excellent short- and long-term results. Patients treated at UZ Leuven therefore have a remarkably higher survival rate compared to the international average, as shown in the Eurotransplant figures. For the period 2013-2023 (709 lung transplants), the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates are 90%, 82% and 75%, respectively.

Prof. dr. Robin Vos, pulmonologist of the lung transplant care programme at UZ Leuven: “The growing and ageing patient population brings new challenges. At the moment we monitor some 750 patients after lung transplants, half of which for longer than ten years. To organise this complex care efficiently and maximally patient-centred, UZ Leuven is fully committed to a ‘shared care’- care model, in collaboration with various expertise centres within the Flemish Hospital Network" (KEI, AZ Delta, AZorg, ZAS CADIX, and ZOL).

Thanks to the close collaboration, patients from all over Belgium are referred quickly and efficiently. This makes lung transplants a life-saving and life-extending solution for selected patients with terminal lung disease such as COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, cystic fibrosis rare lung disorders.

33 jaar of innovation and progress

Since the first lung transplant in 1991 UZ Leuven has reached various impressive milestones. Some striking facts and figures at a glance:

• In 1995 UZ Leuven started with the introduction of lung rehabilitation programmes that continue to serve as models worldwide. In that same year the patient association HALO vzw founded, to better inform patients both before and after the transplant.  
• From 2001 onwards the Leuven lung transplant centre was a pioneer in clinical and experimental research,  e.g. into medication that can considerably reduce the risk of chronic rejection, or innovative storage techniques, such as ex vivo perfusion to optimise donor lungs. 
• In 2012, for the first time at UZ Leuven, a lung was preserved for surgery in a special machine which provided continuous irrigation and ventilation at room temperature (ex-vivo lung perfusion).
• The milestone of 1,000 lung transplants was reached in 2017.
• In 2020, for the first time worldwide, a patient was successfully transplanted with lungs from a donor who had previously experienced COVID-19.
• In 2022 the first European patient received a lung transplant at UZ Leuven, using a new preservation technique, in which the organ is stored at around 6°C instead of on ice. Keeping donor lungs warmer reduces tissue damage and avoids overnight transplants.
• In 2023 UZ Leuven used the lungs of the oldest donor worldwide (94 years).
• The oldest lung transplant patient at UZ Leuven is currenlty 82 years old, and has been living with a transplanted lung for 20 years. Even more impressive: the patient living the longest with a transplanted lung was transplanted 33 years ago. 

Prof. dr. Laurens Ceulemans, lung transplant surgeon at UZ Leuven: “We look to the future with confidence. Our transplant centre continues to pioneer in researching innovative treatments and techniques. Researchers are working on better pre-transplant treatments, such as lung volume reduction techniques and new medications, optimal storage techniques for donor lungs, the development of artifical lungs, gene therapy and more efficient treatments to prevent rejection. The Leuven lung transplant team is also committed to a personalised approach, so that patients today and tomorrow are given the best possible chances.”