Mayo Clinic scientists, doctors and surgeons develop lung transplant insights and innovations that make transplants safer and available to more people. They conduct laboratory studies, clinical trials and other research on many aspects of lung transplantation, such as:
- Improving outcomes. Mayo Clinic researchers study how frail people fair after transplant. The results could lead to interventions before surgery to improve patients' survival and outcomes. Researchers also studied how, for some people, losing weight before lung transplant surgery can reduce the risk of death and complications.
- Making more donor lungs usable. Mayo Clinic is part of a multicenter trial of ex vivo lung perfusion, a process that reconditions donor lungs that previously would've been considered too damaged to use. This technique makes more lungs available to the people on the donor waiting list. Mayo Clinics has completed five lung transplants during this trial.
- Cell therapies for lung disease. Mayo Clinic researchers study potential ways of using stem cell therapy, or regenerative medicine, to treat many lung conditions. Researchers study many areas of lung regeneration, including studying how reprogrammed stem cells can be turned into specialized cells that can replace, repair or regenerate diseased lung cells.
Mayo Clinic's researchers often collaborate with colleagues throughout the United States and internationally who are committed to improving outcomes and care for people with lung diseases.
You may have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials. Read more about the many lung transplant research studies supported by the Transplant Research Center.
Lung subspecialty laboratories
Publications
See a list of publications by Mayo Clinic authors on lung transplantation on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.