Wait times and patient outcomes exceed national averages
MADISON, Wis. – The UW Health Lung Transplant Program has the highest one-year survival rate in the nation, according to new federal quality data.
Each January and July, the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, also called SRTR, a national quality tracker overseen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, releases statistics to rate transplant programs across the United States.
Lung programs are evaluated in several key categories including one-year organ survival and the time it takes to receive a transplant. The UW Health Lung Transplant Program ranked first in the nation in both categories, according to the most recent report.
The probability of UW Health lung transplant recipients surviving one year post-transplant is 94.67%, which is higher than the national average rate of 88.21%, according to the SRTR. Nationally, the median wait time for a lung transplant is about one month. For patients listed through the UW Health Lung Transplant Program, the median time to transplant is 12 days. These achievements require a commitment to the most advanced surgical techniques and innovative therapies, according to Dr. Daniel McCarthy, surgical director of the UW Health Lung Transplant Program, and associate professor of surgery, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
“Our program’s philosophy has always been better, not bigger,” McCarthy said. “I am privileged to work alongside a remarkable team and this distinction shows that everyone’s hard work has delivered the best possible outcomes for the patients we care so much about.”
This commitment has benefited hundreds of patients, including Devon Osborn.
Osborn now enjoys watching his grandchildren play sports and is one of the loudest voices cheering for them, something the 69-year-old never imagined possible before his bilateral lung transplant less than two years ago.
“I needed oxygen just to walk around the block or go up a flight of stairs,” he said.
Osborn was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease about 20 years ago. The disease causes scarring on the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and for oxygen to reach the bloodstream. The damage from the disease is irreversible and only gets worse with time. Osborn’s condition was exacerbated following a COVID-19 infection in 2020.
Knowing time was not on his side, Osborn turned to the experts at the UW Health Lung Transplant Program in the spring of 2022. He was listed for a transplant in October 2022 and received the gift of life Nov. 10, of that year. Since then, the Dane County man has been determined to make the most of his gift.
“This transplant is a blessing,” he said. “How many guys get a second chance at life? Now, my wife and I can travel, and I can watch our four grandchildren grow up.”
The UW Health Transplant Center is home to the only active adult lung transplant program in Wisconsin and one of three centers in the nation approved to serve military veterans.
In 2023, the UW Health lung transplant team performed 56 lung transplants, the most in one year in the program’s history. The program has operated continuously for 35 years with a patient-centered approach at every step in the transplant process, according to Dr. Erin Lowery, medical director of the UW Health Lung Transplant Program, and associate professor of medicine, UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
“These remarkable outcomes are the result of a team commitment to excellence and a multidisciplinary approach to care for even the most high-risk, complex patients,” she said. “We focus on putting patients first, developing an individualized plan for each patient accounting for their unique needs, ensuring that from the moment they step into our clinic and long after their surgery, our team is dedicated to making every effort to transform their lives.”
Osborn understands his life has been transformed because of a generous donor and an experienced transplant team.
“To have a successful lung transplant, you must have faith, the will to live and incredible doctors; I am blessed to have all three,” he said.
A recorded interview with McCarthy is available. McCarthy, Lowery and Osborn are available for interviews.
