RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- VCU Health is set to begin a lung transplant program at its Hume-Lee Transplant Center, becoming the third transplant center in Virginia able to perform lung transplantation. According to a spokesperson for VCU Health, the center received approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing to begin lung transplantation at its Hume-Lee Transplant Center. With this approval, VCU Health becomes the third transplant center in Virginia that is able to perform lung transplantation. “This will be extremely beneficial for the hundreds of patients living with advanced lung disease in eastern and central Virginia,” said Marlon Levy, M.D., interim chief executive officer of VCU Health System Authority and interim senior vice president of VCU Health Sciences. According to the spokesperson, patients waiting for a transplant are often given little notice once an organ has become available, which can mean having to travel far distances quickly, as well as staying away from home for extended periods. Levy said VCU Health's lung transplant program will remove the barrier of long-distant travel for those awaiting transplants and "completes the continuum of care VCU Health can provide to those patients.” According to the spokesperson, there are more than 930 people waiting for a lung transplant nationally, with about 30 Virginians waiting for a lung or a dual lung and heart transplant.