Lung Transplant

Criteria for Lung Transplant at Mayo Clinic

The ideal lung transplant candidate is a person with end-stage lung disease for whom conventional therapy is not likely to provide acceptable benefits or satisfactorily improve life expectancy.

Individuals with the following lung conditions may be candidates for lung transplantation:

• Obstructive lung diseases
  • Emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Chronic bronchitis, bronchiolitis
  • Bronchiectasis
• Restrictive lung diseases
  • Pulmonary fibrosis
• Pulmonary vascular diseases
  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Chronic thrombotic pulmonary embolism

Other diseases:

• Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
• Sarcoidosis
• Occupational lung disease
• Histiocytosis
• Congenital heart diseases with pulmonary hypertension (heart-lung transplant)

While there is no firm age restriction, people from birth to beyond 60 years have benefited from lung transplantation. In some situations, young people with multi-organ disease may be considered for a multi-organ transplant (heart-lung, heart-lung-liver). Prior lung surgery, diabetes and previously treated malignancies (cancer) do not necessarily exclude a candidate from transplantation.

Transplant candidates must also be willing to adhere to a regimented medical program and work closely with the medical team to maximize the benefits and reduce the risks of transplantation.

Mayo evaluates each patient individually. We invite you to contact a member of Mayo's lung transplant team if you have questions about a patient's eligibility. The phone number can be found under "Appointments" in the left navigation on this page.