Risks from the donated lung

Find out what factors can affect the health of a donated lung

Key points

All donated lungs carry some risk, though in general this is much lower than the risks posed by your lung disease
Some lungs are likely to work for longer than others
It is possible for diseases to be passed to you through the donated lung
Many donor-related factors can affect how well the transplant works

All donated lungs carry some risk

Generally, the risks from a donated lung are much lower than the risk posed by your lung disease. But the risks vary from donor to donor as some are healthier than others. Some lungs are likely to work for longer than others. This might be because of health problems that the donor had, or problems that arise during or after surgery.

This means that you and your transplant team may need to make a difficult decision about whether or not a particular lung is right for you.

Factors that can affect the health of a donated lung

There are many donor-related factors that could affect how well the transplant works. In general, the age of the donor, is the most important factor linked to how well a transplanted lung might function.

Lungs from older donors up to the age of 75 years old appear to function well. There may be an increased risk of transmitting a cancer from an older donor as most cancers are more common in older people. The overall risk of this happening is very small (less than 1 in 1,000, on average).

Although donor age is important, other donor factors are also important. Focusing on donor age alone can be misleading. Given that most lung transplants from older donors do well, it is still better in most cases to have a transplant from an older donor than to stay on the transplant waiting list.

How can the donor’s medical history affect your lung transplant?

There are many donor health issues that could affect how well a transplant works:

Being a smoker

Approximately half of the donor lungs accepted for transplantation have a smoking history. This is often difficult to quantify accurately. While there is an increased short-term risk (5 in 100 at 90 days), this is offset by the increased opportunity of a transplant and we encourage patients to consider donor lungs from smokers.

If lungs from donors who smoked were not used, the chances of dying on the waiting list would be far higher.

Disease or serious illness

Viral infections

Some viral infections are very common in otherwise healthy people, including organ donors, and are unlikely to cause problems in the recipient. An example of this common type of viral infection is CMV (cytomegalovirus). You will be given tablets that can successfully treat CMV infection if it is passed on from the donor to the recipient

Learn more about the risk of infections

Donor lungs not working well before death

Sometimes, the donor’s lungs may not be working well just before they die. In many cases these lungs can then work very well in patients who receive them as transplants.

It is often possible for a lung to recover when it is transplanted, even if it was not working well at the time of the donor’s death. Your transplant team will only accept such a lung if they think that there is a good chance that the lung will recover once it has been transplanted.

Lungs that have not worked well in the donor for a long time before their death, or where the donor is known to have lung disease, are not used for lung transplantation.

Scarred or damaged donor lung

Sometimes, the transplant team may predict that the lung will be suitable to use for transplantation, but when the lung is removed from the donor the situation may be different. There may be scars, infections or other problems in the lung that might make it less suitable to transplant. Your lung transplant team will tell you if they have any concerns about how the lung looks.

What happens if your donor is found to have health issues?

Your lung transplant team will tell you if there are significant concerns about the donor’s previous health or lifestyle that may lead to risks for you. You will be told how this might affect your health and how well a transplanted lung from this donor might work.

What do you need to know about your donor?