Greek Hospital Launches Lung Transplant Program

The Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center has now been licensed by the Greek Health Ministry to perform lung transplants, in collaboration with the Attikon University General Hospital and the Sismanoglio General Hospital of Attica, the center announced on Wednesday.
The lung transplant program will be initially supported by the Thoracic Surgery Department of the Vienna University Hospital, under the supervision of Dr. Walter Klepetko.
The new program is the result of an agreement between Greece’s Ministry of Health, the National Transplant Organization and the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center with the Vienna University Hospital. The arrangement involved six doctors from the Onassis Center training for the program with all expenses paid by the Onassis Foundation.
According to the National Transplant Organization, thirteen Greek patients are approved annually for lung transplantation operations in clinics abroad and ninety-two are approved for post-op checkups.
The average annual cost of 2,600,000 euros for transplants represents the cost of 26 percent of all organ transplants performed outside of Greece. The average annual cost of post-op checkups for patients with lung transplants is 460,000 euros, which is equivalent to 46 percent of all post-op checkups abroad.
Source: AMNA