Lung Transplant Diagnosis: end-stage lung disease, lung transplant eligibility, lung transplant donor

Lung Transplant - Diagnosis

Who needs a lung transplant?

Patients with end-stage lung disease are likely candidates for lung transplants. Some common causes of end-stage lung disease which require lung transplantation include:

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Bronchiectasis
Pulmonary Hypertension (Primary and Secondary)

Who is eligible for a lung transplant?

When the transplant team decides that a candidate is suitable for transplantation, the patient’s name will be placed on the waiting list. Donor lungs are matched with recipients according to the following criteria:

Size (height and weight)
Chest measurements (chest circumference & chest x-ray measurements)
Blood type (O, A, B or AB)

The quality of the donor lungs is of the utmost priority. Donor lungs are thoroughly evaluated by the lung transplant team. The evaluation includes examination of the donor’s chest x-ray, medical history, social history (with particular emphasis on tobacco and substance abuse), amount of oxygen in the blood (arterial blood gases) and bronchoscopy.