Vipul Patel, MD, medical director of lung transplantation at VCU Health’s Hume-Lee Transplant Center, was hired in 2024 and has been developing the program, according to a March 7 news release from the health system.
Lung transplants are scheduled to begin in early 2025. For the first several years, the system plans to perform 10 to 30 transplants a year, with the aim of growing to 50 transplants each year, the release said.
VCU Health’s previous lung transplant program ran from 1991 to 2006 and performed 38 total lung transplants.
The health system plans to open a new pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation facility in Henrico, Va., in 2025 to provide transplant candidates with presurgical care, the release said.