Question? What is your name Boomerexpert? As for my transplant, I was put on the deferred list, which means I am not actively listed and waiting for a lung. Being on the 'deferred list' means I have been pre-qualified for the transplant and should I need one because I could go downhill rapidly and suddenly. If that were to happen, then, I can go straight to the 'Active List'. They said my disease has not progressed to transplant level yet, but they suspect that I could go downhill in the next year or so and will need it then.

Just curious: If someone is older than 70 would they even be put on the list? Someone once said that age goes against you.

Got it...my name is Terri...you'll also find in my response to the filter question!

Hi Terry. At some point age does go against you. The Mayo transplants many people over 70 if they are in good shape other than the disease that is trying to take them out. I have gone to several lung transplant support groups and met people over 70 (late 70's) that had not one, but two diff transplants! Mayo tends to take on patients who have no other hope, whereas; other intitutions will not. I think, that some institutions will not take that on because they want to show higher survival numbers. Mayo used to be number one in the country for highest survival rates with lung trans, but now that their pre-qualifying terms aren't as stringent as other institutions they have dropped to either second or third place. I don't care, they are still number one in my book!

I've been looking into stem cell therapy... they have a treatment facility, the Lung Institute, in Pittsburgh, which is near me. If memory serves me right, it cost about $7,000 (I could have that wrong though?).
Any thoughts/opinions?
~Jen 🙂

Jen, I did some research into this a couple of years ago. They have a clinic in Scottsdale so I could have gone there easily. It was about $7,000 and takes 3 days to harvest the cells and re-inject. They inject the stem cells into the blood stream near your heart, I think - I tossed everything out so am going by faulty memory! The things that were concerning to me and my doctor - 1 - no white paper published - 2 - number of patients studied was less than 100 - 3 - stem cells injected directly into an area seem to have good result but these are not injected directly into the lungs so you are hoping that enough of them make it there to make a difference. I believe that only 15% of the 100 studied felt that there was any improvement. I could have that wrong, but it was a very small number with a very insignificant improvement, if at all. Let me know what you find out. Linda

@lindham272 Thanks, Linda! I really appreciate the information! I'll keep you guys posted if I look into it anymore! ~Jen 🙂

Jen, I asked my doctor at Mayo about stem cell therapy. He said it is a waste of money right now, and that there is no scientific proof yet that it works. He said it is still very much still in the experimental phase and he hopes to see it work in his lifetime.

Hi @jentaylor, I see you were asking about stem cell therapies. @windwalker is quite right that

The use of regenerative medicince (stem cells) is still in early days for lung regeneration. You can read more about Mayo's research here: http://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/focus-areas/lung-regeneration

There is a great deal of hope and a great deal of hype about stem cells. That is why Mayo Clinic offers a free consult service. When you call the consult service, they will tell you about the availability of approved stem cell therapy at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere, and for what conditions. They can also tell you about research studies that are actively recruiting participants. Furthermore, you can add your name to a database to be notified when additional studies and information become available. You can learn more about the Consult Service here http://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/center-regenerative-medicine/patient-care/clinical-services/regenerative-medicine-consult-service.
Or call 1-844-276-2003 to speak with one of our experts.

@colleenyoung Hi Colleen. that is interesting, thank you for the info.