KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A lung transplant for a woman who survived COVID-19 has medical experts exploring if it could make a difference for other survivors.
A Chicago area hospital said the first lung transplant was performed on a patient whose lungs were damaged by coronavirus.
Medical experts have said the virus could destroy the lungs in the worst cases.
Dr. Steven Stites with the University of Kansas Health System said there's a lot of hurdles to overcome in qualifying for an organ transplant.
"You have to clear the virus, you have to be otherwise healthy, and you have to be strong enough. And to fight this terrible problem, you have to be good enough clinically to survive the transplant itself," Stites said.
Stites added patients with existing chronic health problems would likely be excluded from getting a transplant.
According to the Midwest Transplant Network, nearly 2,000 people in Missouri and 500 people in Kansas are waiting for a lifesaving transplant.
Lori Markham serves as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the nonprofit organization and said they're closely watching the long-lasting effects of coronavirus in survivors.
"Organ failure is the result of a lot of different things. And so this is just one more now unfortunate reason that causes people's organs to fail," Markham said.
Markham said since the pandemic started, there have been lots of changes to the transplant world.
"We never really saw a drop in kidney transplants. We didn't see too big of a drop in liver. But the heart and lungs, those are the teams that have to travel a lot for those organs depending on where they are in the country and that's where we saw the biggest impact in April, but I'd say now, we're pretty much back to normal," she said.
Despite operations returning to normal levels, Markham said it's important more people consider becoming organ donors.
"Tell your family, sign up on the registry. When you go to the DMV, say yes when they ask you that so that you can save a life through donation. You also never know when you're going to be on the other end of that and might need something in return," she said.
Information on how to register can be found on the Midwest Transplant Network's website.
