The Impact of Elimination of the Donor Service Area (DSA) on United States Lung Transplant Practices and Outcomes at High and Low Competition Centers

Purpose On November 24, 2017, the DSA was removed as the primary unit of lung transplant allocation in the United States. We sought to examine the effects of center competition on recipient demographics, resource utilization, and outcomes before and after this change. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of adults in the SRTR database who underwent lung transplant in the year before or after DSA elimination. Pre- and post-DSA groups...