Lung Transplant Evaluation and Tests

After you begin the lung transplant process at UPMC, we will assign you a transplant coordinator. Your coordinator will guide you through each step of your lung transplant journey. The transplant team handles all aspects of preparing for your new lung(s), including financial, mental, social, and physical considerations of transplant surgery.

Our team will perform a comprehensive lung transplant evaluation to ensure that a lung transplant is in your best interest and help you understand what to expect before, during, and after the procedure.

Start Your Transplant Journey

Your Lung Transplant Team

During your evaluation, you'll have diagnostic tests and meet with a number of experts from the lung transplant team, including:

Behavioral health nurses or psychiatrists — Assist you and your family in coping with the stresses associated with chronic disease and the transplant process. They will also assess any current psychiatric/mental health symptoms that are being treated or may need to be treated.
Credit analysts — Review your insurance coverage and benefits information. They will help you to understand your insurance policy and will be your point of contact for insurance changes. They will also explain any parts of the transplant process that insurance does not cover and suggest options to assist with those costs.
Nutritionists — Assess your nutritional status, dietary knowledge, and provide education and recommendations for your diet.
Pharmacists — Meet with you to get a complete list of all the medicines and supplements you take, both prescription and over the counter, and ask you how you take your medicines.
Pulmonologists — Examine you, perform a medical history and physical, and will focus on the signs and symptoms of your disease. They may also review other options for managing your condition.
Research transplant coordinators — Transplant nurses who coordinate and oversee patients who participate in research studies and clinical trials.
Social workers — Will discuss your support team at home, your prescription insurance coverage, and other social aspects of the transplant process. You will also learn about fundraising options.
Transplant nurse coordinator — Will introduce you to the transplant process and review your evaluation schedule. The visit will consist of a preliminary health screening, a review of your medication, and an overview of the transplant process. Your transplant nurse coordinator is here to answer any questions you may have.
Transplant surgeons — Will assess your physical capability and risks for transplant. They will review your current disease management plan and all available treatment options to see if a transplant is the best option for you.

Your Lung Transplant Evaluation

After you receive insurance approval for your pre-lung transplant evaluation, you will work with your transplant coordinator to schedule your appointments.

What happens during a lung transplant evaluation?

During your pre-lung transplant evaluation, you will meet with members of your transplant team and have a series of exams and tests. Your pre-lung transplant evaluation will provide your transplant team with information they need to decide if a lung transplant is in your best interest.

How long does a lung transplant evaluation take?

Your pre-lung transplant evaluation involves a series of exams and tests, so it will take about a week to complete. During this time, you may want to stay in Pittsburgh. Family House offers affordable housing to people seeking treatment for serious illnesses.

Does my care partner need to come to my lung transplant evaluation?

Your care partner will need to come with you to each appointment. The lung transplant exams and tests are physically demanding. It can be hard for someone with lung disease to get from one appointment, test, or location without help.

Your care partner must also meet with the transplant team and learn about their role before, during, and after your transplant.

Lung Transplant Evaluation Tests

During your pre-lung transplant evaluation, you will have tests to check for signs of disease and see how well your heart, lungs, and other bodily systems are working. Tests may include:

Barium swallow — Uses a special contrast dye to identify abnormalities in your esophagus and upper gastrointestinal tract.
Bilateral lower extremity Doppler and carotid Doppler — Checks for blood clots and narrowed or blocked arteries that supply blood to your legs and brain.
Blood work — Checks for signs of infection or illness.
Chest x-ray — Looks for signs of heart damage, lung disorders, or other health problems.
Desaturation studies — Measure blood oxygen levels during activity or sleep.
Echocardiogram — Uses ultrasound waves to create detailed images of your heart.
Electrocardiogram (EKG) — Measures your heartbeat and your heart's electrical activity (rhythm).
Heart (cardiac) catheterization — Shows blockages, reduced blood flow, and other problems within your arteries.
Mammogram or Pap smear for women — Checks for signs of breast or cervical cancer.
Manometry — Involves inserting a thin, flexible tube with a light and a camera through your mouth and into your esophagus to examine how your gastrointestinal tract functions.
Pulmonary function tests — Measure how well your lungs work.
Six-minute walk test — Shows how well your heart and lungs work during exercise.
Sniff study — Uses real-time x-ray imaging to measure how your diaphragm moves when you take a quick inward breath, or “sniff.”
Ultrasound of the abdomen/pelvis — Uses sound waves to create images of the organs and structures in your abdomen and pelvis to check for signs of disease.
VQ scan — Looks at the air and blood flow in your lungs.

What Happens After My Lung Transplant Evaluation?

The lung transplant selection team will review your exam and test results to decide if a transplant is right for you. When possible, your care team may recommend other lung failure treatment options before moving forward with a transplant.

Waiting for your new lung(s)

If you are medically approved for lung transplant surgery, the financial team will work with your health insurance to get preauthorization for your procedure. After your lung transplant is approved by your insurance, we'll place you on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) lung transplant wait list.

You must be nicotine-free for six months before we can place you on the wait list.

Wait times for a donor lung vary. While on the lung transplant wait list, you must:

Be able to get to UPMC within four hours. This will ensure that you can get to the hospital in time when a donor lung becomes available. Family House offers affordable housing for people coming to Pittsburgh for lung failure treatment, but it is not a medical facility.
Be accessible by phone 24 hours a day.
Check in with your lung transplant coordinator at a minimum of every two weeks to update us on your medical status.
Have regular pulmonary tests every three months.
Meet with the transplant surgical team every six months.

Learn more about traveling to Pittsburgh for transplant services.

Medical care while you wait for your lung transplant

You will be cared for through UPMC's comprehensive lung services. You should also be seeing your local pulmonologist for continued medical care.

UPMC has a successful history of using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a bridge to lung transplant.

ECMO is a machine that will oxygenate and purify your blood outside your body. This process takes the stress off your heart and lungs and gives them a chance to rest and heal. If needed, your doctor will discuss this bridge-to-transplant option with you.

The transplant team is here for you throughout the transplant process. Do not hesitate to call the Cardiothoracic Transplant office at 412-648-6202 or toll-free at 844-548-4591 for additional information.

Why Choose UPMC for Lung Transplant?

When you choose UPMC for lung transplant care, you will receive:

Access to experienced, board-certified specialists — Since the program's inception in 1982, our surgeons have performed more than 3,000 lung and heart-lung transplants, exceeding the number of transplants performed at many other transplant centers.

Outstanding transplant results — We are among the few lung transplant centers in the United States that have achieved a high transplant volume while maintaining outcomes comparable to national averages.

Expert care for complex cases — Our talented team of lung and heart-lung transplant surgeons continues to gain vast clinical skills and expertise in the field, allowing them to accept many high-risk patients for both single- and double-lung transplants that other transplant centers may decline.

Bloodless transplants — We perform lung transplants for adult patients who need a transplant but cannot or choose not to receive blood components, including plasma, platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. From transplant evaluation to post-transplant care, our team is here to support patients every step of the way.

By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-12-09.