Lung transplantation local update: A work in progress

Leong Swee Wei
Sultan Idris Shah Hospital, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Lung transplantation is an important treatment for people with advanced lung disease. In Malaysia, a few lung transplants have been successfully performed in the past, with the last case in 2020. Since then, efforts have been ongoing to rebuild and strengthen the local transplant program. These include setting up dedicated teams, creating patient referral pathways, and improving coordination between hospitals. Challenges such as organ donor shortages, long-term care planning, and specialised training still exist. However, there is increasing interest and collaboration among healthcare professionals to improve the service. This update shares the current progress, lessons learned, and key areas that need further work. Although the program is still developing, steady steps are being taken to build a reliable and sustainable lung transplant service in Malaysia.