Before 2005, time accrued on the lung transplant waiting list counted towards who was next in line for a donor lung. Then in 2005 the lung allocation scoring system was implemented, which meant the higher the illness severity scores, the higher the priority on the transplant list. Little is known of the lung transplant candidates who were listed before 2005 and were caught in the transition when the lung allocation scoring system was implemented. A narrative analysis was conducted to explore the illness narratives of seven lung transplant candidates between 2006 and 2007. Arthur Kleinman’s concept of illness narratives was used as a conceptual framework for this study to give voice to the illness narratives of lung transplant candidates. Results of this study illustrate that lung transplant candidates expressed a need to tell their personal story of waiting and to be heard. Recommendation from this study calls for healthcare providers to create the time to enable illness narratives of the suffering of waiting to be told. Narrative skills of listening to stories of emotional suffering would enhance how healthcare providers could attend to patients’ stories and hear what is most meaningful in their lives. 1. Introduction Lung transplant candidates suffer from chronic end-stage respiratory disease such as chronic obstructive lung diseases, cystic fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension. Lung transplant candidates were referred by their physician to be considered as a candidate for an organ transplant because they are no longer responding to the maximum level of optimal medical therapy for their condition. Candidates must undergo a series of tests that thoroughly examine their physical status, mental status and social support networks. If the individual is accepted, they are added to a national patient waiting list for lung organ transplant called The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), which is the national organ procurement, donation, and transplantation system. OPTN works alongside with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) which is a nonprofit organization that maintains a centralized data base that links all organ procurement organizations and transplant centers in the nation [1, 2]. In May of 2005 the OPTN and UNOS changed the way they allocated organs to lung transplant candidates. The Lung Allocation Scoring System was implemented, which was a new method that utilizes a scoring system that will determine the candidates position on the transplant waiting list [3]. The lung allocation system uses
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