Top 7 Pulmonary Fibrosis and ILD Centres in Poland: Where to Find Specialist Care

Pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease (ILD) can involve complex investigations and input from different medical specialties. Finding a centre with specific experience in ILD can therefore be important, particularly when the exact type of lung disease is uncertain or specialist assessment is needed.

Poland has several university hospitals and specialist respiratory centres with expertise in ILD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), advanced pulmonary diagnostics, respiratory rehabilitation, clinical research, or lung transplantation.

The seven centres below are not ranked from best to worst. They are included because their official services show specific expertise relevant to pulmonary fibrosis or ILD. The right centre depends on the type of ILD, the investigations or services required, location, referral rules, and the advice of your healthcare team.

{{get-started}}

Why can specialist ILD care be important?

Specialist ILD care can bring together the expertise needed to distinguish between different diseases that affect the lung interstitium.

Pulmonary fibrosis means scarring of lung tissue, but it is not a single disease. It can occur as part of several interstitial lung diseases. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is one specific form in which the cause of the fibrosis is unknown.

Other ILDs may be related to autoimmune disease, environmental or occupational exposures, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, medicines, sarcoidosis, or other causes.

International IPF guidelines support multidisciplinary discussion when making difficult diagnostic decisions. Depending on the situation, this may involve respiratory medicine, thoracic radiology, and pathology expertise.

Investigations considered during ILD assessment can include high-resolution computed tomography, pulmonary function testing, DLCO, exercise testing, blood tests, bronchoscopy, and, in selected circumstances, tissue sampling. Not everyone requires every investigation.

For a broader overview, read the mama health guide to pulmonary fibrosis.

Which are the top pulmonary fibrosis and ILD centres in Poland?

Several specialist respiratory centres in Poland publicly identify ILD, IPF, or pulmonary fibrosis as an important part of their clinical work.

The following centres are presented in no particular order.

Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases — Warsaw

The Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Warsaw has a dedicated focus on the diagnosis and care of interstitial lung diseases.

The institute specifically lists idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pulmonary sarcoidosis, and other interstitial lung diseases among its areas of expertise.

Its respiratory services are supported by specialist imaging, pulmonary function testing, bronchoscopy, pathology, immunology, and other diagnostic departments.

The institute also has a longstanding academic role in pulmonary fibrosis. Its specialists have been involved in developing standards for IPF assessment and care and in European IPF registry activity.

This breadth can make Warsaw particularly relevant when an ILD is difficult to classify or when several sources of specialist expertise may need to be combined.

Location: ul. Płocka 26, Warsaw

Why consider it: dedicated ILD expertise, pulmonary fibrosis experience, advanced diagnostics, and academic involvement in IPF.

University Clinical Centre — Gdańsk

The University Clinical Centre in Gdańsk combines specialist pneumonology with advanced respiratory and transplant services.

Its Pneumonology Clinic provides specialist respiratory assessment, while the wider hospital has a lung transplantation programme.

Pulmonary fibrosis is specifically listed among the diseases for which lung transplantation may be considered when clinically appropriate. This does not mean that everyone with pulmonary fibrosis requires or qualifies for transplantation. Referral depends on individual medical circumstances and specialist assessment.

The centre's wider respiratory infrastructure makes Gdańsk relevant for complex lung disease and for situations where advanced respiratory services may need to be discussed.

Pneumonology location: ul. Smoluchowskiego 17, Gdańsk

Why consider it: specialist pneumonology, advanced respiratory care, and access to lung transplantation expertise.

University Hospital — Kraków

The University Hospital in Kraków is a reference respiratory centre for southern Poland with specific experience in interstitial lung disease.

Its Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Internal Medicine lists interstitial lung diseases and rare respiratory diseases among its main areas of activity.

Available investigations include chest CT, bronchoscopy, transbronchial lung biopsy where appropriate, spirometry, body plethysmography, and DLCO measurement.

The department also provides pulmonary rehabilitation and physiotherapy services.

This combination of imaging, functional testing, invasive diagnostics when needed, and respiratory rehabilitation can be useful when an ILD requires a broader specialist work-up.

Location: ul. Jakubowskiego 2, Kraków

Why consider it: ILD expertise, extensive pulmonary diagnostics, rare lung disease experience, and respiratory rehabilitation.

SPSK No. 1, Medical University of Silesia — Zabrze

The Pulmonology Department at SPSK No. 1 in Zabrze explicitly includes IPF and other interstitial lung diseases within its clinical work.

The department lists idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, drug-related lung changes, and pulmonary complications of rheumatic diseases among the conditions it assesses and manages.

Its facilities include a bronchoscopy unit, pulmonary function laboratory, X-ray and CT services, and respiratory support facilities. A pulmonary rehabilitation subunit is also part of the department.

The centre additionally conducts research and clinical studies in respiratory disease.

Location: ul. 3-go Maja 13–15, Zabrze

Why consider it: IPF and broader ILD expertise, functional and imaging diagnostics, bronchoscopy, and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Kujawsko-Pomorskie Pulmonology Centre — Bydgoszcz

The Kujawsko-Pomorskie Pulmonology Centre provides dedicated services for interstitial lung diseases within a specialist respiratory hospital.

Its respiratory departments identify pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases as important areas of clinical work.

The centre also operates a dedicated programme for interstitial lung disease and provides pulmonary function testing, bronchoscopy, imaging, respiratory rehabilitation, and other specialist respiratory services.

Its endoscopy department performs procedures including cryobiopsy in the assessment of interstitial lung diseases when clinically appropriate.

Respiratory rehabilitation is also available for non-obstructive lung diseases, including ILD.

Main location: ul. Seminaryjna 1, Bydgoszcz

Why consider it: dedicated ILD services, extensive respiratory diagnostics, access to advanced bronchoscopy techniques, and rehabilitation.

University Clinical Hospital — Poznań

The University Clinical Hospital in Poznań combines academic pneumonology with pulmonary function testing, transplant assessment, and IPF research.

Its Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Pulmonary Oncology provides extensive respiratory diagnostics. Available testing includes spirometry, body plethysmography, DLCO, exercise assessment, and the six-minute walk test.

The clinic also provides assessment related to lung transplantation.

Poznań is particularly notable for active academic work involving idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The Poznań University of Medical Sciences clinical research centre lists IPF studies conducted through the pulmonary department at the Szamarzewskiego location.

Clinical trial availability changes over time, so current opportunities should always be checked directly with the research team.

Location: ul. Szamarzewskiego 84, Poznań

Why consider it: advanced pulmonary function assessment, transplant-related expertise, academic respiratory care, and IPF research activity.

Medical University of Łódź / Barlicki University Clinical Hospital — Łódź

The pneumonology team in Łódź has a strong academic focus on interstitial lung diseases and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Interstitial lung disease is a major area of specialist and research interest within the Medical University of Łódź pneumonology department.

Its expertise includes idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, ILD associated with connective-tissue diseases, and sarcoidosis.

Members of the team are active in research and specialist education concerning pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases.

This can make Łódź particularly relevant when the suspected disease falls within the broader ILD spectrum rather than pulmonary fibrosis alone.

Location: ul. Kopcińskiego 22, Łódź

Why consider it: specialist ILD expertise, IPF knowledge, research involvement, and experience across several ILD subtypes.

How should you choose between ILD centres in Poland?

The most appropriate centre usually depends on the specific expertise and services you need rather than on a general ranking.

A useful first question is whether the centre regularly works with your specific type of ILD or with cases that have not yet been clearly classified.

You could also ask whether the centre offers or coordinates:

• Specialist review of high-resolution CT imaging
• Full pulmonary function testing, including DLCO
• Six-minute walk testing
• Bronchoscopy where appropriate
• Multidisciplinary ILD discussion
• Assessment for autoimmune-related ILD
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
• Specialist pulmonary fibrosis treatment programmes
• Lung transplantation assessment when relevant
• Clinical research opportunities

You do not necessarily need all of these services. The investigations and specialist input that are appropriate depend on your medical history and the questions your healthcare team is trying to answer.

Location also matters. ILD can involve repeated appointments, tests, and follow-up visits. A centre that is easier to reach may sometimes be more practical than travelling long distances for every appointment.

It can also be possible for a specialist centre to provide an assessment while some ongoing care continues closer to home. Your doctors can explain what arrangement is appropriate for your situation.

What should you bring to an ILD specialist appointment?

Organized records can help you explain your history more clearly and make important questions easier to remember.

Before the appointment, ask the centre which documents it wants to review.

Depending on your history, useful information may include:

• Previous chest CT scans, including the original image files if available
• Radiology reports
• Spirometry, FVC, and DLCO results
• Six-minute walk test results
• Hospital discharge letters
• Current prescriptions and a list of medicines taken previously
• Relevant blood test results
• Rheumatology or autoimmune investigations
• Bronchoscopy reports
• Pathology reports if tissue sampling has previously been performed
• Details of previous respiratory rehabilitation
• Information about work, hobbies, animals, mould, dust, chemicals, or other possible exposures
• A short timeline of important symptoms and changes you have noticed

It can also help to write down your most important questions.

For example:

• What type of ILD is being considered?
• What does my CT report mean?
• Are previous scans useful for comparison?
• What do my FVC and DLCO results describe?
• Are further investigations being considered?
• Which changes would be useful to record between appointments?
• Could pulmonary rehabilitation be relevant to discuss?
• When is my next follow-up expected?

These questions are examples for appointment preparation. They do not determine what investigations or care are appropriate for you.

For more background before an appointment, read the mama health overview of pulmonary fibrosis symptoms.

What can experiences shared by others with pulmonary fibrosis add?

Experiences shared by others can make the everyday impact of pulmonary fibrosis easier to describe and can surface questions you may want to discuss with your doctor.

Medical guidelines explain disease mechanisms and clinical care. They do not always capture the exact questions that come up at home.

Inside the mama health app, questions about symptoms and triggers account for 22.4% of the pulmonary fibrosis questions in one current view. Dry cough and fatigue appear repeatedly.

One question shared in the app described it simply:

“This dry cough just won't go away, and the fatigue is overwhelming.”

That sentence captures something a list of symptoms cannot: the frustration of dealing with more than one persistent problem at the same time.

Questions and experiences from others can help you recognize topics you want to describe more clearly, remember issues that are easy to forget during a short appointment, or find language for something that has been difficult to explain.

They cannot determine what your symptoms mean medically. Individual experiences vary, and the same symptom can have different causes.

For practical day-to-day information, see living with pulmonary fibrosis day to day.

You can also read more about fatigue and persistent dry cough with pulmonary fibrosis.

How can mama health help before and between specialist appointments?

mama health is a free app for everything your condition asks of you, grounded in medical science and the experience of others, so you don't have to figure it out alone.

• Ask anything. Answers are shaped by trusted sources, your history, and thousands like you.
  This means questions that come up outside an appointment do not have to disappear before the next visit. You can record what you want to remember and explore educational information around it.
• Find specialists and care near you, wherever you are.
  If you are looking for an ILD specialist, respiratory clinic, or another type of care, mama health can help you search for relevant services nearby.
• Understand your labs, prescriptions, and reports in the context of your history.
  You can get educational explanations of medical language in laboratory results, prescriptions, imaging reports, and other documents alongside the information you have chosen to share. This can help you understand what you are reading and prepare clearer questions for your healthcare team.
• Track for your own reflection.
  You can record symptoms, triggers, medication experiences, appointments, questions, and changes that you want to remember. The purpose is to create a clearer personal record rather than to make clinical decisions.
• Turn what you record into a report for your doctor's appointment.
  
  Instead of trying to remember several weeks or months at once, your notes can be organized into a structured report that you can take with you and use as a reference during the discussion.

Experiences from others add another layer. Seeing what thousands like you have asked about or found difficult can introduce questions you may not have thought to ask yourself. Medical information remains grounded in trusted sources, while individual experiences provide practical context.

mama health does not diagnose pulmonary fibrosis or ILD, determine which centre you should attend, interpret a test as a diagnosis, decide whether a medicine is appropriate, or tell you how to change treatment.

What is the main takeaway when looking for ILD care in Poland?

Poland has several specialist respiratory centres with documented expertise relevant to pulmonary fibrosis and ILD, but the best choice depends on the care and expertise you need.

Warsaw has a major dedicated lung disease institute with extensive ILD experience. Gdańsk combines specialist respiratory care with lung transplantation expertise. Kraków provides broad ILD diagnostics and rehabilitation. Zabrze explicitly covers IPF and several other forms of ILD. Bydgoszcz provides dedicated interstitial lung disease services within a specialist pulmonary hospital. Poznań combines advanced respiratory testing with IPF research, while Łódź has strong academic expertise across several ILD subtypes.

Before arranging care, confirm current referral requirements, availability, and which records the centre would like to review.

A specialist appointment can involve a lot of information. Preparing your scans, test results, medication history, questions, and the changes you have noticed can make it easier to explain what has been happening and remember what matters to you.

Disclaimer: This content is informational and not a medical device. mama health offers information and support and does not replace a doctor.