Effects of Lung Allocation Score on Waiting List Rankings and Transplant Procedures

The effect of the new lung allocation score on ranking of patients on the waiting list and the number of transplants performed is not known. We assessed this effect on our lung transplant program and conducted a simulation of lung transplants for the first few months of the new system, using the old waiting lists. Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis had improved rankings and patients with emphysema had worse rankings, but the number of transplants for each disease category did not change significantly compared with the simulated transplants.