When modern science and medicine has failed to improve or correct the CF disorder, a lung transplant is most often the only alternative left to the patient.

    HELP! once again is heard from the parent and the CF patient. This time the help call is much more stressful and filled with much anxiety. This is a new and additional demand in the life of the parent and the CF patient. By this time the body’s adrenalin is pumping at an all time height. This is the point when fear almost totally consumes the entire thought process to the point of feeling hopelessness, inadequate and totally at the mercy of this dreaded disease.

    However, through many countless hours that doctors, research centers, hospitals, and numerous medical centers has spent in the preservation of the patient with CF, there is much encouraged hope and in most cases total elimination of CF for the patient.

    It is at this moment in the patient life, that total dependency is upon the patients doctor and or his medical staff, to advise the parent and patient of the next procedure in working toward a lung transplant.

    If you are fortunate enough to live in a state or better yet live in a city that has facilities to perform lung transplants, this makes life a little bit easier to accept the reality of the doctors diagnoses and recommendations for a lung transplant. Even with an in state facility, the slow process of qualifying for a lung transplant begins.

    There are several medical facilities within the United States that performs organ transplants of various kinds. Just how does the parent and patient enter into this unknown world commonly referred to as organ transplants, that is filled with fear, doubt, misconceptions, and sometimes with a feeling of anger by both parent and patient; "why is this happening to us".

    The transplant journey will require a lot of patients, faith, money, time and endless hours away from home and loved ones, and for the question of "Why is this happening to us"; GOD only knows, so let us put our trust and faith in GOD, and let us take the first step in faith, remembering and believing that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see", and so it is, this is where the journal begins in the life of a lung transplant patient, and this is also where America's Challenge begins the journey with you.

TRANSPLANT CENTERS

    Fortunately in the United States of America, we have been blessed with medical doctors, skilled surgeons, nurses, research teams, hospitals, chapels and ministers that are ready and willing to unselfishly lend all their support and knowledge to the CF patient and parent's.

    Through these resources a transplant center that is suitable and matching for the CF patient is recommended, it could be right where the CF patient is now receiving treatment, and then it could be hundreds of miles away in a strange large city.

    The medical team that is now treating you is separate from the transplant team. The length of time it takes to receive a transplant is governed by many factors, including blood type, size, tissue type, length of time on the waiting list, severity of illness and other medical criteria. The CF patients data must be matched with the donors data. Factors such as race, gender, age, income, celebrity or political status are never considered when determining who receives a lung transplant or what position you are at on the transplant list.

    It is recommended that you ask your doctor for the names of other lung transplant patients and try to contact them. Lung transplant patients are generally willing to talk about their experiences, also transplant surgeons are generally willing to talk about these issues. All of these factors should be evaluated carefully for the benefit and convenience of the CF patient and parent's.

On July 28, 1999 the UNOS national patient waiting list for lung transplants were;

• It should be noted that not all of these transplants were Cystic Fibrosis related.

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