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OKLAHOMA CITY – The Lung Transplant program at the Nazih Zuhdi Transplant Institute at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center celebrates 20 years of lifesaving medicine.

The first lung transplant performed in Oklahoma took place at the facility June 23, 1990. Since then, an additional 174 people have benefited from the program.

“Twenty years ago, the founders of this institute had the foresight to create a lung transplant program,” says Remzi Bag, M.D., FCCP, chief of the INTEGRIS Lung Transplant program. “They were obviously forward-thinkers since even today in 2010 there are approximately only 60 lung transplant programs in the entire country.”

In the United States, approximately 1756 people are waiting for a lung transplant. Currently, 17 people are waiting in Oklahoma. Many come from surrounding states in hope of receiving the precious gift. The median wait time for a lung at INTEGRIS is 3.2 months compared to other wait times of almost a year nationwide.

To date, 130 single and 45 double lung transplants have been performed at INTEGRIS. Twenty-year-old Joshua Blalock received his new lungs April 29 this year. “I felt different immediately. My breathing wasn’t as labored,” explains Blalock, who was born with cystic fibrosis.

Before the transplant, his condition had deteriorated so much he spent most of his days in bed. He was so weak he could hardly walk and his brothers had to carry him up and down stairs. After the surgery, his life dramatically improved. “Two months out, I am still working on regaining my strength, but I no longer need help getting around. I have reclaimed my independence.”

Blalock longs for the day when he can once again run and play sports with his three younger brothers, something Bag believes is a true possibility. “Josh is very compliant. He has been given a second chance at life and I think he will do very well in his recovery.”

The statistics speak for themselves. The one year survival rate of INTEGRIS lung transplant patients is 89.6 percent, higher than the national average of 83 percent. “We are truly proud of the longevity of our patients,” says Pattie Manning, B.S., RN, manager of the INTEGRIS Lung Transplant program. “We currently have 57 living lung recipients with the longest surviving recipient 11.5 years post transplant. We have three patients who are more than 10 years out from their transplants.”

Bag says INTEGRIS does not have the volume to compare results with the national 10 year survival rate of 20 percent to 25 percent, but insists the program’s long-term outcomes are favorable. Blalock is counting on it. “I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. I want to live life to the fullest.” A wish the INTEGRIS staff has for all their patients.