The e-book for the May 2026 edition of Transplant International is available online in open access at this link
The cover features a letter to the editors reporting the impressive summiting of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas, without supplemental oxygen by a lung transplant recipient accompanied by the medico-surgical team from Medical University of Vienna (see our article about this expedition at this link). This experience is a demonstration that organ transplant recipients can not only “live well” but also live their lives to the fullest.
One article which is of particular interest to our patients is the one on post–lung transplant surveillance in 2026: current practice, variability, and the need for standardization (page 40). In it the authors make the case for
follow-up after lung transplantation to combine objective clinical data with patient-reported measures, with PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurements) capturing quality of life, symptoms, functional status and psychological wellbeing, and PREMs (Patient-Reported Experience Measurements) focusing on patients’ experience of care — communication, coordination and shared decision-making. Both should be integrated into clinical workflows digitally, enabling real-time monitoring and personalised care, and supporting benchmarking across transplant centres.
The authors also speak of the growing role of telemedicine in extending specialist follow-up, through telemonitoring, teleconsultation, telerehabilitation and telespirometry. They say that trial evidence suggests telehealth interventions are feasible post-transplant and offer some (modest) benefits for psychological wellbeing and physical capacity, particularly in patients with pre-existing depression. Patient satisfaction with telemedicine is generally high, and it reduces the burden of travel. However, most patients prefer in-person visits for complex assessments, and these remain essential — particularly for monitoring treatment adherence, which is a key determinant of graft survival. The evidence points towards a hybrid model: regular in-person follow-up at specialist centres, complemented but not replaced by structured telemedicine.
The article promotes a structured follow up with the transplant pulmonologist team coordinating the different aspects.
Photo credit: Transplant International
