A portable lung which could help those with breathing problems lead a normal life is being developed by scientists. The Swansea University scientists say it could take many years before the device  , the size of a spectacle box   , is available . Lung patients , who have seen how it would work , have welcomed the research. Its research suggests that one person in every seven in the UK is affected by lung disease---- this equates to approximately 8 million people. As of 6 March 2009, 217 people were on the waiting list for a lung transplant  according to figures by NHS Blood and Transplant . Now scientists in Swansea are developing a portable artificial lung which could transform   the lives of patients . Researchers claim that in the long term the device could offer an alternative to lung transplant , giving hope to those who suffer from conditions such as emphysema  and cystic fibrosis. The device mimics the function of a lung---by getting oxygen into and carbon dioxide out of the blood stream . Professor Bill Johns came up with the idea after his son died of Cystic Fibrosis . It is important that we make something that will help people , who instead of being confined   to a wheelchair with an oxygen bottle , can actually walk around and do things for themselves , he said. Although the research has been welcomed by leading charities  , caution has also been voiced over the length of time it will take before a portable lung will become available . "We have to stress that this is several years away from being used , even in a trial stage," said Chris Mulholland , head of the British Lung Foundation. Patient Elizabeth Spence from Swansea has been refused the double lung transplant she needs but remains hopeful that one day the new device could save her . " My body will reject the lungs , so this possibly could be an answer--- another way of getting new lungs without actually having the transplant," she said. It seems as if   _   really matters before the portable lung is put into use.
support money time trial