Living donor organ transplantation of the lung

Question

Good morning to the expert team,

I have read several years ago in the journal of the German CF-patient organization a report about a successful living donor transplantation.
In how far is the living donor transplantation of the organ lung an option today?
Many greetings and thank you very much.

Answer

Dear questioner,

indeed there is also in the field of lung transplantation the possibility of a living donor transplantation. This is carried out at different centers i.a. in the USA and especially also in Japan. For a living donor transplantation two suitable donors are necessary (in most cases members of the family), to take one lobe of the lung from each. Humans own 2 lungs with 3 lobes on the right and 2 lobes on the left side and therefore the donor loses about one fifth of his lung function. Prerequisite of a living donor transplantation is however, that the recipient is not too large, as otherwise the donated lobes of the lung are not able to fill up the thorax sufficiently and this would lead to big problems in the furhter course. Therefore, only children are suitable recipients in general. In order to be able to perform such a transplantation successfully, a large team of surgeons and anesthetists are needed however, as altogether 3 patients have to be treated. The results of such a living donor lung transplantation have nevertheless to be regarded generally as good and the risks for the donors are acceptable.

Best regards,
Dr. med. Markus Hofer

09.04.2013