A Guide to Lung Transplantation

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What Will Happen When You Are Accepted Into a Lung Transplant Program?

Once you are accepted into a medical center's transplant program, you will be put on the waiting list for a donor lung. Each medical center has its own rules to follow, but in general you will:

• be given more tests, especially blood- and tissue-typing so a donor lung can be matched to your body tissue as closely as possible
• be put on a regimen of "healthy living" that will get you into the best possible physical condition for surgery, with exercise, good nutrition, no smoking, and limited or no use of alcohol
• be put in touch with the medical center's social services to help you with problems such as lodging and transportation, legal issues, and finances
• be counseled, along with members of your family, as to what to expect before, during, and after lung transplantation
• be told what to do when it is your time to receive a donor lung—for example, how to get to the medical center as quickly as possible if you live in a city or town other than the one where the medical center is located

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