Because allergic diseases are long-term conditions that commonly manifest first in early life and persist in various forms well into adulthood, the transition from paediatric to adult care is an inevitable requirement. To date there has been very little focus on the requirements and wishes of young people with long-term medical problems as they transition through health services. As a consequence, there is a paucity of guidance on the way in which their transition should be conducted to optimise the outcomes and experience of these patients. The burdens encountered by patients as they are expected to develop full independence and competence to manage their own condition are superimposed on a number of physical, psychological and social challenges. Their need to achieve educational and career goals while taking control of their allergies can be overwhelming. System specialist societies and health services are beginning to resolve this problem as outcome data show that young people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events. A disproportionate number of fatalities occur in young people with severe asthma and food-induced anaphylaxis. Recommendations on the structure of this transition are being developed by national and international allergy societies. However, regional differences in health service organisation and variations in political, sociological, environmental and financial structures mean that the transition can be optimised only through locality-based implementation. The planning must involve all stakeholders, of whom young people with allergic diseases are most important. A series of recommendations are presented here which incorporate those developed by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology together with our own additions that respond to specific challenges raised by young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]