Bridging to Lung Transplantation.

Lung transplantation is the gold standard for treating patients with end-stage lung disease. Such patients can present with severe illness on the waitlist and may deteriorate before a lung donor is available. Bridging strategies with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are valuable for getting patients to transplant and provide a chance at survival. The current article describes the indications, contraindications, and techniques involved in bridging to lung transplantation with ECMO.