Defining immunological risk to improve lung transplant outcome

Lung transplantation is a vital therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease, though long-term outcomes remain poor due to immune-mediated complications. This thesis aimed to improve pre-transplant immunological risk assessment by refining donor-recipient HLA matching through advanced matching algorithms, enhancing HLA antibody detection, and identifying the role of non-HLA antibodies in lung transplantation. Findings demonstrated that improved HLA compatibility and better antibody profiling can reduce rejection risk and improve overall survival. Several findings from this work, including enhanced have already been implemented into routine clinical practice to improve transplant outcomes.