Accepting or declining an offer for a lung

Your lung transplant team will support your decision-making and guide you through the offering process

Key points

It can take years before you are offered a lung from a deceased donor, but sometimes when you get an offer it may not suitable for you
There may be problems with the donor or organ that mean the lung has a higher risk of failure than you or your transplant team are willing to accept
You may have problems, such as a recent infection, that makes you unsuitable to undergo transplantation at that time
It is up to you and your transplant team to decide whether to accept or decline an offer

Understanding the risks

Receiving an offer for a lung from a deceased donor can bring about a rollercoaster of emotions. You may have been waiting years for this moment and desperate for the transplant to go ahead. But before it can, your transplant team needs to assess the likely risks and benefits of the offered organ and discuss these with you.

Every deceased donor and every lung are different. Some organs carry more risk than others. Sometimes the lung you are offered may carry a higher risk than either you or your transplant team are willing to accept.

Learn about the risks from a donated lung

Accepting an offer

If your transplant team thinks that an offered organ is suitable for you, they will tell you relevant information about the donor and the organ.

They are not able to give you all of the information that they have about the donor. The donor’s name and personal details must be kept confidential. But you will be told if the donor has significant health problems that could affect how well the organ works after transplantation. Or if there are risks of transmitting infections or cancers.

If you decide to accept the offer and proceed with the transplant, you will be asked to come into the transplant centre.

View British Transplantation Society consent guidance (PDF, 114KB)

Declining an offer

If you feel the lung is not right for you, you should decline the offer. The transplant centre will not force you to accept an organ offer. The transplant team is there to support you in your decision.

If you turn down an offer for a reasonable reason then you will remain active on the transplant waiting list if you are otherwise well enough for a transplant.

Acceptable reasons for refusing an offer include:

Concerns about the risk of getting disease from the donor
Concerns about the lung being higher risk for possible complications
Concerns that the lung may not function for long enough

If the transplant team has concerns about the reasons for you turning down an offer, they may want to talk to you further. Your place on the transplant waiting list may be put on hold until this has happened.

Answers to common questions

How do I decide whether to accept or refuse an offer?

We understand this is a very difficult decision. Your transplant team will advise you as much as possible and encourage you to discuss your options with family and friends.

Often, there may not be much time to decide whether a lung is suitable for you or not. The transplant team might only be able to give you an hour or less to make this decision. They will tell you if this is the case.

Much of your decision depends on how much risk you are prepared to take. Some patients on the transplant waiting list are likely to receive many organ offers, while other patients will rarely receive an organ offer. Some patients have major problems with dialysis or are very keen to come off dialysis. Therefore, some patients are willing to accept more risk with their organ transplant than others.

This is a personal choice and your transplant team will support whatever decision you make.

What happens if my transplant team feels that a lung offer isn’t suitable for me?

If the transplant team decide that a lung offer is not suitable for you, they will turn down the offer for you.

Some patients want to be told about all offers that are made to them, even if the transplant team think that the organ being offered isn’t suitable. Please let your transplant team if you want to be told about all offers, even if it means waking you at late at night.

Most patients prefer not to be contacted by the transplant team if the team think the offer isn’t suitable for them. For these patients, they only want to be phoned with an offer if the transplant team think that it is a reasonably good organ for them.

Please let your transplant team know which approach you would prefer.

How long will I have to wait for another offer?

The wait for an organ is not a queuing system and you won’t go ‘to the back of the queue’. It’s a case of waiting to see when you’re matched to another suitable donated organ. How long this will be is hard to say as it depends on many different factors. You might wait for many months or years for another offer, or you might get an offer quickly. Your transplant team will tell you which is more likely, but it is not possible to accurately predict when you will receive another offer.

Learn how the organ offering system works

Can I change my mind about having the transplant?

What happens if I feel unable to accept certain donated lungs?