Lung Transplantation

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

A lung transplant removes a person's diseased lung and replaces it with a healthy one. The healthy lung comes from a donor who has died. Some people get one lung during a transplant. Other people get two.

Lung transplants are used for 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 most often are used to treat people who have severe:

• COPD
• Cystic fibrosis
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
• Pulmonary hypertension

Complications of lung transplantation include rejection of the transplanted lung and infection.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Lung Transplant (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Preventing Rejection (United Network for Organ Sharing)

Treatments and Therapies

• Lung Disease Treatments (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Living With

• Diet and Exercise (United Network for Organ Sharing)

Images

• Heart-lung transplant - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lung transplant - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• The SRTR/OPTN Annual Data Report (Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Lung Transplantation (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Application of Place-Based Methods to Lung Transplant Medicine.
• Article: Lung Transplantation From Donation After Brain Death Donors on Extracorporeal Support.
• Article: Induction Strategies in Lung Transplantation: Alemtuzumab vs. Basiliximab a Single-Center Experience.
• Lung Transplantation -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• How the Lungs Work (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• Lung transplant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish