Key Points

• Lung transplant is surgery to remove a person's diseased lung and replace it with a healthy lung from a deceased donor.
• Lung transplants are done on people who are likely to die from lung disease within 1 to 2 years. Their conditions are so severe that other treatments, such as medicines or breathing devices, no longer work.
• Lung transplants aren't very common due to the small number of donor lungs available. Each patient must go through a careful screening process to make sure he or she is a good candidate for a lung transplant.
• Some people get one lung during a transplant. This is called a single-lung transplant. Other people get two lungs. This is called a double-lung transplant. Some people who have severe heart disease and lung disease get both organs. This is called a heart-lung transplant.
• Lung transplants most often are used to treat people who have severe COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), cystic fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, or alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
• Lung transplants are done in medical centers (large hospitals) where the staff has a lot of organ transplant experience. If you need a lung transplant, you must apply to a center's transplant program. You will go through a careful selection process.
• If you're accepted into a medical center's transplant program, you'll be placed on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's (OPTN's) national waiting list. OPTN matches a donor's lungs to a recipient based on need, severity of disease, and whether the transplant will improve the recipient's chances of survival. Organs are matched for blood type and the size of the donor lung and the recipient.
• During the lung transplant, the surgeon will make a cut in your chest to open it. He or she will remove your diseased lung and connect the main airway of the donor lung to your airway and its blood vessels to those of your heart. For a double-lung transplant, the surgeon will remove your diseased lungs, one at a time, and replace them with the donor lungs. You may be placed on a heart-lung bypass machine during the surgery.
• After surgery, you'll spend several days in the hospital's intensive care unit. Then you will go to a hospital room. The staff will carefully watch your recovery. On average, people spend 1 to 3 weeks in the hospital.
• Before you leave the hospital, the staff will teach you how to keep track of your overall health, how to check your lung function, and how to make healthy lifestyle choices. You also will learn the signs of the two main complications of lung transplant-rejection and infection.
• Rejection can come on suddenly or slowly. To prevent rejection, your doctor will prescribe medicines to suppress your immune system. You will need to take these medicines for the rest of your life.
• The medicines you take to prevent rejection may weaken your immune system. As a result, you're more likely to get infections. You can take steps to prevent infection. Wash your hands often, take care of your teeth and gums, protect your skin from scratches and sores, and stay away from crowds and people who have colds or the flu.
• A lung transplant can improve your quality of life and may help you live longer than you would without the surgery. However, lung transplants have serious risks. The short- and long-term complications of the surgery can be life threatening.