University Hospital Leuven reaches milestone of 1000 lung transplants
At the beginning of summer, the 1000th lung transplant was carried out at University Hospital Leuven. 26 years after the first transplant took place the hospital now houses the largest lung transplant center in the Benelux and survival rates lie almost 30% higher than the world's average.
"We've come a long way since the first lung transplant carried out in Leuven in 1991", Prof. dr. Geert Verleden mentions. "By increasing the number of donors, we can now aim for up to 80 or 85 transplants per year. Continuous groundbreaking research has put us at the top with the results of the transplants we carry out."
"The magical number 1000 is a big milestone for the entire surgical team", Prof. dr. Dirk Van Raemdonck continues. "We are very proud to have one of the largest lung transplant centers in Europe and the largest in the Benelux."
Currently, University Hospital Leuven carries out up to 70 lung transplants per year, placing itself at the top of Europe among six other centers that carry out 50 or more transpants per year. Five-year survival rate of patients who underwent a transplant in Leuven lies at 80%, significantly higher than the world's average of 55%.
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