Lung Transplants: Health Story

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, June 18 and August 20, 2006
Show 316

An upbeat Lo Detrich spends her days working out in the pulmonary rehabilitation department in St. Louis, MO waiting for new lungs. Her focus is to preserve what is left of her lungs. According to Dottie Biggar, a nurse at the hospital, "We want patients to be in the best possible shape to tolerate the transplant well and to get well quickly." The five-year survival rate for lung transplants is 55%. To receive a lung, everyone is given a lung allocation score. Previously, transplant patients on a waiting list were ranked by how much time they had been on the list. Dr. Bert Trulock of the Lung Transplant Program at Barnes Jewish Hospital says, "The score balances the risk of dying while waiting, against the likelihood of a successful transplant." Lo reflects positively on her wait, "You don't have time to rethink things, so you want to be ready. I think it's your attitude. I'm ready for a new life." On Wednesday, June 7th, Lo did receive new lungs, and doctors are very optimistic for her recovery.