Lung Transplant

What is lung transplant?
A lung transplant is a surgery to replace a diseased or failing respiratory organ with a healthy lung, typically from a deceased donor. A lung transplant is saved for individuals who have attempted different medicines or medications, yet their conditions haven't sufficiently progressed.
Depending on your medical condition, a lung transplant may include supplanting one of your lungs or both of them. In a few circumstances, the lungs might be also transplanted beside a donor heart.

Risk and Symptoms
The real danger of a lung transplant is organ dismissal. This happens when your immune system attacks your donor lung as if it were a disease. Severe rejection could lead to failure of the donated lung.
Other risks: -

  • bleeding and blood clots
  • cancer and malignancies due to immunosuppressants
  • diabetes
  • kidney damage
  • stomach problems
  • thinning of your bones (osteoporosis)


Detection and diagnosis
A lot of tests are conducted during lung transplants:

  • Pulmonary function tests
  • Cardiac stress test
  • Coronary artery catheterization
  • Bone mineral density test
  • Chest X-ray
  • Computed tomography (CT scan) of the chest
  • Blood tests for kidney function and liver function, and a complete blood count (CBC)
  • Blood type and antibodies present in the blood, for matching against potential organ donors


What is the success rate?
The success rate of lung transplant is 60-70 per cent. The success rate varies, as a single or both the lung are transplanted.

What is the cost of the treatment?
The treatment cost is $50,000-55,000 USD. The OPD cost can be about $3000-5000 USD.

What is the treatment duration?
The treatment duration once the donor is available is 25 days in hospital and about two months in India. The availability of the donor determines the waiting period.

What are the precautions after liver transplant surgery?

  • Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables each day
  • Eating whole-grain breads, cereals and other products
  • Drinking low-fat or fat-free milk or eating other low-fat or fat-free dairy products, to help maintain enough calcium in your body
  • Eating lean meats, such as fish or poultry
  • Maintaining a low-salt diet
  • Avoiding unhealthy fats, such as saturated fats or trans fats
  • Avoiding grapefruit and grapefruit juice due to their effects on a group of immunosuppressive medications (calcineurin inhibitors)
  • Avoiding excessive alcohol
  • Staying hydrated by drinking adequate water and other fluids each day
  • Following food safety guidelines to reduce the risk of infection