A lung transplant is a surgical procedure to replace a diseased or failing lung with a healthy lung, usually from a deceased donor. A lung transplant is reserved for people who have tried other medications or treatments, but their conditions haven't sufficiently improved.

While a lung transplant is a major operation that can involve many complications, it can greatly improve your health and quality of life.

Causes of Lung Failure

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema

• Scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis)

• High blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension)

• Cystic fibrosis

Complications

Major risks of lung transplant include rejection and infection.

1. Risk of rejection : Your immune system defends your body against foreign substances. Even with the best possible match between you and the donor, your immune system will try to attack and reject your new lung or lungs. The risk of rejection is highest soon after the lung transplant and is reduced over time.

2. Anti Rejection Drugs : Your drug regimen after transplant will include medications to suppress your immune system (immunosuppressant medications) in an effort to prevent organ rejection. You'll likely take these anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life. These drugs might have side effects such as weight gain, facial hair, stomach problems, diabetes, kidney damage, osteoporosis, cancer, high blood pressure (hypertension)

How it Works?

When a donor organ becomes available, the donor-recipient matching system finds an appropriate match based on specific criteria, including:

• Blood type

• Size of organ compared with chest cavity

• Geographic distance between donor organ and transplant recipient

• Severity of the recipient's lung disease

• Recipient's overall health

• Likelihood that the transplant will be successful