Piedmont Healthcare is launching a lung transplant program designed to expand access to lifesaving treatment for patients with end-stage lung disease – creating only the second program in the state for Georgia’s 11-million-plus residents.

Currently, more than half of transplantable lungs donated in Georgia leave the state for transplantation, creating significant challenges for patients, families, and care teams. Piedmont’s new program aims to reduce those burdens. As part of the complete set of lung therapies for which Piedmont provides care, lung transplantation will be available in fall 2026.

Based at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, the program is led by Surgical Director Christian Bermudez, M.D., Transplant Program Medical Director Juan Salgado, M.D., and Lung Transplant Critical Care Medical Director Enrique Diaz Guzman, M.D. Together, they bring more than 60 years of experience caring for patients with advanced cardiopulmonary disease.

Approximately 3,000 lung transplants are performed in the United States each year, and nearly 5,000 people are on the waiting list. Lung transplantation is often the last treatment option for patients with end-stage lung disease, including pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis, when other therapies are no longer effective.

Piedmont’s lung transplant team also has extensive experience in thoracic rescue and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which provides support for the heart and/or lungs outside of a patient’s body. The team hopes to make lung transplantation available to more patients, including patients with acute respiratory failure and those receiving ECMO support. In the ECMO program’s history at Piedmont, the team has placed more than 2,000 patients on ECMO, making it one of the busiest programs in the world.

“Our team’s expertise combined with Piedmont’s transplant capabilities and pulmonary care network make us uniquely positioned to provide personalized care for high-complexity patients,” said Dr. Bermudez. “We look forward to giving patients, including those who have been declined by other programs, another option for lung transplantation in Georgia.”