If you get into a medical center's transplant program, you'll be placed on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's (OPTN's) national waiting list. Your transplant team will work with you to make sure you're ready for the transplant if a donor lung becomes available.
Waiting for a donor lung can be frustrating. However, you can do several things to prepare.
While you wait for a lung, you may feel worried, scared, anxious, or depressed. These feelings are normal in this situation. Talk with your health care team about how you feel. They can offer tips for coping with your emotions. Family and friends also can offer support.
OPTN matches donor lungs to recipients based on need. OPTN will consider how severe a person's disease is and how quickly it's worsening. OPTN also will consider whether the transplant will improve the recipient's chances of survival, and by how much.
Organs are matched for blood type and the size of the donor lung and the recipient.
If OPTN and your transplant center think they have a good match for you, the center will ask you to come in as soon as possible.
Once you arrive, your team will do tests to make sure you're healthy enough to have the surgery and that the lung is a good match. If you're healthy enough and the lung is a good match, the team will prepare you for surgery.
Clinical trials are research studies that explore whether a medical strategy, treatment, or device is safe and effective for humans. To find clinical trials that are currently underway for Lung Transplant, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
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