Project to Cure OB

One of the most serious complications that can occur in people who have had a single or double lung transplant is a condition called obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), or bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS).  A form of chronic lung rejection, and the leading cause of death following lung transplant, OB affects up to 50% of patients within five years of transplant.

In scientific terms, chronic rejection due to OB results in the destruction of the small airways in the lung. This leads to irreversible scarring, airway obstruction, shortness of breath, and eventual death.

In 2014, physicians and scientists within the University of Pittsburgh Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, along with partners at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, launched an aggressive research project to diagnose OB early, and develop new treatments to prevent its inevitable progression.  We need your support of the Project to Cure OB to continue this research.

There are many ways you can play a role in this critical work.

1.) Make a gift to the Project to Cure OB

The University of Pittsburgh Division of Pulmonary Medicine has initiated the Project to Cure OB to cure obliterative bronchiolitis and free transplant patients from the worry of chronic rejection due to OB. This is an ambitious research program with an aggressive agenda.

Our three-prong research program will:

• Measure the ability of new breathing tests to detect blockage of the small airways;
• Collect lung and blood tissue samples to characterize changes in cell types and markers of immune activation that will tell us who is at risk for chronic rejection; in this way we will adjust medications, prevent rejection, and improve survival after lung transplant.
• Initiate studies of inhaled nitrite as a promising way to prevent chronic rejection.

Every gift is needed to support this important work, and there are many ways to make your contribution.

Online

Securely donate to the Project to Cure OB via the University of Pittsburgh web site.

By Mail

Mail your check, payable to University of Pittsburgh Project to Cure OB to:
Medical and Health Sciences Foundation
Suite 8084
3600 Forbes Avenue at Meyran Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Attn: Anne Immekus

By Telephone (Credit Card)

Call 412-647-2434 to make your donation using a credit card, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST).

Your Gift will Make a Difference!

With your generous support our researchers will find new ways to detect OB early, which will provide an opportunity to intervene before lung function has deteriorated. Your generosity will transform the care of lung transplant recipients by early identification of OB and the development of new therapies to treat it effectively.

2. Create awareness and become an advocate

Even people who have had lung transplants do not always fully understand the risk of OB. Begin by learning more about OB, then you can help to educate others. Spread the word through your online community and social media networks.

3. Organize a fundraising event or virtual fundraiser

The internet and social media make fundraising and virtual fundraising something everyone can do. Creating your own web page offers you a quick and simple way to rally your friends and family to support your fundraising for the Project to Cure OB.

For ideas on initiating your own fundraising for the Project to Cure OB, and to receive the official guidelines for fundraising on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh, please call or email Anne Immekus at 412-647-2434 or ianne@pmhsf.org.

For more information about this important research – or the other research programs of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine – please contact:

Anne Immekus
Medical and Health Sciences Foundation
University of Pittsburgh and UPMC
Forbes Tower, Suite 8084
3600 Forbes Avenue at Meyran Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-647-2434
Fax: 412-647-8300
ianne@pmhsf.org