Patient Selection
Which patient receives a lung transplant and which does not is often not easy to decide. On the one hand, there is a severe shortage of donor lungs and therefore the number of possible transplants is very limited. However, a patient must meet certain criteria to be eligible for a lung transplant.
For one thing, the patient’s age must not exceed 65 years. More important, however, besides the age, is the general condition of the patient. A patient in good general condition, i.e. with a healthy nutritional status and a stable psyche and no accompanying diseases, is better suited for a lung transplant than a mentally unstable person or a person who already has major problems with other organs.
The better the patient’s general condition, the more likely it is that the complications will be well overcome after the transplantation and that there is a real chance of recovery. If the patient’s general condition deteriorates dramatically again and again, i.e. the patient has to be hospitalized repeatedly for breathing difficulties, receives an ever increasing supply of oxygen, suffers from increased weight loss and repeatedly has heart problems, then the time has come when a lung transplantation becomes unavoidable. It is then important that the patient is sufficiently informed about possible risks and the time after the operation.This means that the patient must be aware that a transplant is always treated with immunosuppressive drugs and that rejection reactions may occur after lung transplantation despite the drugs. In addition, lung transplantation is not always the key to success and it is even possible that despite transplantation the lung does not function properly and the patient may need a lung transplant again.
Waiting list
A patient has to make a decision together with his pulmonologist, a specialist in lung diseases, that he would like to have a lung transplant. Once this decision has been made and the patient meets all the necessary criteria, the patient must be available at all times, day and night, by telephone or cell phone. The patient leaves his number at a transplant center. If a suitable donor lung is considered, the patient must immediately drive to the hospital to undergo the operation. Constant availability is extremely important, otherwise the patient may miss the chance of a new lung.
