LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- UofL Health will soon have the only lung transplant program in the state.
UK HealthCare announced a pause for its program that starts Aug. 18. Kentucky has one of the highest rates cigarette use and lung disease in the U.S.
Doctors at UofL Health's Trager Transplant Center said they're ready to take on new patients to help keep patients close to home.
"Transplant is not just a quick one surgery and done," said Dr. Allan Ramirez with UofL Health. "It's a very involved process even after the transplant. So being local, having your support system in place, being at home, those are critical to the success of a lung transplant."
Lung transplants started in Louisville in the early 1990s, and the center has done almost 400 transplants since then. Doctors urge everyone to sign up to be an organ donor and to tell their family members about their wishes.
UofL Health performed the first heart-lung transplant and first double-lung transplant in Kentucky.
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