BACKGROUND: There are more than 1,600 people waiting for a lung transplant today. The wait for suitable donor organs to become available may be a year or longer.
The average waiting time on the list is 18 months. Unfortunately, many patients who would benefit from a lung transplant sadly die before suitable donor lungs become available. The shortage of organ donors is made even more dramatic for those waiting for lung transplant as donor lungs are particularly delicate and are easily damaged by events that happen before their removal from the donor.
This means that only 1 in 5 of the potential donor lungs available, currently used in lung transplants. (Source: http://www.hta.ac.uk/project/2554.asp)
THE TRANSPLANT: There are four main types of lung transplants. The first three depend on finding the right donor who has just died but has a healthy lung. The fourth type depends upon finding two healthy living donors. Your doctors will determine which type of lung transplant is best for you and your condition.
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{Register to be an organ,eye and tissue donor. To learn how, www.donatelife.net or www.organdonor.gov}
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