Current status of lung transplantation in Japan

Between October 1998 and May 2010, 158 lung transplants were performed in seven centers in Japan. Living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT) has been performed more than cadaveric lung transplantation (CLT) because of the difficulty in obtaining brain dead donors (n = 93 versus n = 65). The indications were quite unique in Japan where idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension was the most common indication, followed by lymphangioleiomyomatosis, idiopathic interstitial pneumonia and bronchiolitis obliterans. The 5-year survival rate was 81.4% in LDLLT and 68.6% in CLT (p = 0.104), which were much better than world average.