Lung Transplant

Transplant

Appointment New Patient Appointment or 214-645-5505

UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Lung Transplant team has performed more than 1,000 lifesaving transplants – making our program the largest in North Texas and second largest in the state. We consistently rank among the top 20 programs nationally.

This level of experience and expertise has resulted in outstanding outcomes. We finished 2022 with the best one-year and three-year survival rates in North Texas. We also specialize in the treatment of complex pulmonary conditions that may lead to transplantation, such as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and interstitial lung disease.

Through our transplant network located throughout Texas, we make lung transplantation more accessible for people living in El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Amarillo, Tyler, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Over the past year, our team has dramatically increased our telemedicine capabilities, and we continue to perform evaluations and make waitlist additions.

Randall's story: Getting the call at Christmastime

When the phone range the day after Christmas in 2011, Randall Gideon never suspected it would be UT Southwestern with news that would change his life. But when he took his first, deep cold breath after lung transplant surgery, he immediately knew it would change his life forever. More than a decade later, he's still eternally grateful for that gift. 

Sophisticated Lung Transplant Tools and Techniques

UT Southwestern’s skilled Lung Transplant team uses the most sophisticated tools and techniques to help patients with end-stage lung disease who have exhausted their other treatment options. Our experienced team of experts collaborates to deliver world-class, evidence-based care.

We also pioneer the use of leading-edge technologies to treat patients with advanced lung disease.

UT Southwestern is one of fewer than two dozen U.S. centers using ex vivo perfusion, which helps physicians more thoroughly evaluate donor lungs and aims to improve their quality – expanding the number of available healthy lungs – before they are considered for transplantation. The technology runs artificial blood through the circulatory system of a lung after it has been removed from a donor’s body, thereby extending the time period that the lung is viable for evaluation and transplantation.

We also offer extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an established technology that is used outside the body to help diseased lungs and hearts more effectively deliver oxygen to the blood. ECMO allows patients to be mobile, which helps them remain as strong as possible while they await lung transplantation.

Clinical trials help patients access the most promising new treatments before they are available to the public. If you have lung disease, speak with your doctor to find out if taking part in a clinical trial might be right for you.

Multidisciplinary, Statewide Care

Our team includes pulmonologists (lung doctors), surgeons, intensive care physicians, and specialized nursing staff, as well as imaging and infectious diseases specialists, transplant coordinators, social workers, nutritionists, pharmacists, and financial coordinators.

These specialists work together to provide ongoing medical management and simplify every step of the process – from support for patients awaiting lung transplants to comprehensive outpatient treatment for transplant recipients.

For our patients’ convenience, UT Southwestern has satellite clinics in Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, and Tyler that allow us to perform an initial screening and evaluation – close to patients’ homes – to see if transplant is an option for them.

UT Southwestern Medical Center Lung Transplant Program

Meet our Lung Transplant team, see our new state-of-the-art facility, and learn how our multidisciplinary approach to caring for people with end-stage lung disease makes us one of the top-volume centers for lung transplant in the nation.

Transplant Mentorship Program

Transplantation can be an overwhelming and very emotional process. Having someone to talk to who has experienced every stage of the process can help. That’s the idea behind the Transplant Mentorship Program – a supportive community of people who have successfully been through, or are currently going through, the transplant journey. It is an opportunity to ask questions directly of someone who has been there and knows something of what you’re experiencing.

Interested in becoming a mentor?

  • Do you have the time and energy to commit to your mentee (usually 30 minutes to 1 hour a week)?
  • Do you reply to emails/phone calls in a timely manner (no more than 48 hours)?
  • Are you in a good place mentally and emotionally, a place from which you can offer sound advice to another person?
  • Are you a good listener?

Apply to be a mentor (PDF)

Interested in being mentored?

  • Are you looking for someone who has been through the transplant process and can answer your questions but understand that this person is not a medical professional or psychologist?
  • Are you responsive and eager for help?

Apply to be mentored (PDF)

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Contact Us

Allison Moore, B.S.N., RN
Transplant Intake Coordinator
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