Lung Transplant Information

What Is a Lung Transplant?

A lung transplant is an operation in which doctors take a healthy lung, usually from someone who is deceased, and transplant it into a person who has lung failure or critical lung disease.

Doctors have the capability to transplant one lung or both. When one lung is involved, it's called a single-lung transplant. When both lungs are replaced, it's called a double-lung transplant. In some circumstances a heart transplant is done in conjunction with a lung transplant (called a heart-lung transplant).

In recent years, it's become possible to take a lung from a living donor. But this procedure is still rare because it's relatively new. It's done only in cases of urgent need.

Lung transplant statistics and waiting list Recently compiled lung transplant statistics have revealed that approximately 4000 individuals in the U.S. are on the lung transplant waiting list. Other lung transplant statistics include (U.S. only):

• Average wait time for lung transplant surgery: 2 years
• Number of lung transplants performed annually: approximately 1600
• One year lung transplant survival rate: 83 percent
• Five year lung transplant survival rate: 53 percent
• Ten year lung transplant survival rate: 28 percent

What is the criteria for a lung transplant? If you have a lung disease or condition that limits your ability to draw oxygen in or push carbon dioxide out, you may be a candidate for a lung transplant.

The criteria for a lung transplant donor is also important. The health of the donor, the size of the lung, age and blood type must all be considered.

Certain lung diseases and disorders are most likely to lead to lung failure, which could result in a lung transplant. Diseases and conditions that compromise lung function include the following.

Asbestosis This serious lung diseases from lung term exposure to asbestos. Microscopic asbestos fibers cause scarring in the lungs. The damage is usually not evident for at least ten years after the exposure begins.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD COPD is a combination of emphysema and bronchitis that acts to block the bronchial tubes, which therefore obstructs air flow.

Cystic fibrosis This lung disease results from defective gene, which causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs. It also often leads to lung infections.

Mesothelioma This is a disease that can affect the mesothelium, which is the lining that covers many of the organs of the body. It is most often associated with asbestos exposure, and very often it strikes the lungs. The picture to the left shows an X-ray of a lung darkened by mesothelioma.

Pulmonary hypertension This is a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs. a It is very serious progressive illness and can even be life threatening.

Sarcoidosis with advanced fibrosis Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that usually starts in the lungs or lymph nodes.

Scarring of the lungs, which is also called pulmonary fibrosis Asbestosis is an example of this kind of condition.

Congenital heart defects These can cause damage to the arteries of the lungs when undiagnosed or untreated.

Some lung diseases and conditions can be treated with medication and other therapies. But when lung damage is irreversible and life-threatening, a lung transplant may be the best option.

What are the lung transplant risks? Rejection and infection are the two biggest risks facing a lung transplant patient.

Your immune system will treat the transplanted lung as a dangerous invader, creating antibodies designed to destroy your new organ. This is commonly called organ rejection, and it usually occurs within six months of the transplant operation.

There are medications that suppress the body's effort to reject the lung. Someone with a transplanted lung will need to take these medications, known as immunosuppressants, for the rest of their life.

While immunosuppressants allow your body to accept your new lung, they simultaneously lower your ability to fight off infection. Therefore, you have to be very careful about avoiding situations where infections are possible.

Immunosuppressants also make some people more likely to develop diabetes.

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