About Lungs and Transplantation

• How Normal and Transplanted Lungs Work
  The lungs of any human being work primarily to exchange gasses in your blood so that your tissues receive well oxygenated blood. The lungs bring in oxygenated air and get rid of carbon dioxide. You breathe air into your nose, down into your trachea and into long "tubes" known as the bronchi. Click for more...

• Why a Lung Transplant is Necessary
  Patients are considered for lung transplantation when their lung function cannot be significantly improved by either medical therapy or surgery. There are many types of lung disease which may cause end-stage pulmonary failure. In some cases the lung disease may also severely affect the function of the heart. Click for more...

• About Lung Transplantation
  Lung transplantation is the placement of one or both lungs from a donor into the body of a recipient with endstage lung disease. The decision to transplant one or both lungs is dependent upon the type of disease and the result of the evaluation testing. Click for more...

• How Organ Matching Works
  All patients accepted onto a transplant program’s waiting list are registered with UNOS. UNOS maintains a centralized computer network linking all organ procurement organizations and transplant centers. Click for more...