Piedmont to launch new lung transplant program

Piedmont Healthcare says it will launch a lung transplant program at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital in fall 2026, giving Georgia a second program after Emory began its own in 1993. The health system says the U.S. performs about 3,000 lung transplants annually, with more than 5,000 people on waiting lists, while about half of lungs donated in Georgia are shipped out of state. Piedmont’s transplant team will include three lead doctors, among them Surgical Director Christian Bermudez. The program targets end-stage lung disease such as pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and COPD when other options have failed.