Lung Transplant Rules for Children The cases drew the attention of Congress; a lawsuit by the children's families resulted in a federal court ordering the Department of Health and Human Services to put the children temporarily on the adult transplant waiting list. Such decisions are best left to medical professionals, not politicians or judges. Still, it makes sense for the organ transplant network, an agency established by federal law, to review its rules on child recipients. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network treats children under 12 as a separate pool from adolescents and adults because it is hard to fit a larger lung in the chest of a child. But there are very few pediatric lungs available for transplantation, the rules for children to gain access to adult lungs are tight, and the grounds for doctors and patients to seek an exception are limited. On Monday, the network's executive committee voted to broaden the path for appeals and review its allocation policy for children. An existing national board of transplant professionals will be given expanded authority to review whether children under 12, based on the severity of their disease, should be allowed on the adolescent and adult waiting lists while they remain on the pediatric list. That will not guarantee them a transplant, but it might help in dire cases. Of course, this change does not solve the underlying problem: there are too few organs to meet the demand.