Surgery involves replacement of one or both lungs from a diseased patient to healthy human donor, is known as Lung Transplant. For those who have critical lung problems caused by cystic fibrosis, this is the best option. Lung donor can be living or brain dead but still on life support. The case in which the donor is brain dead and on life support is more preferable as it involves less risk to the donor. Before the procedure of lung transportation to be considered, the type of donor tissue must be properly matched with the one having disease as any minor problem may result in the rejection of replaced lung in the diseased patient body.

In lung transport surgery, patient is in unconscious state so as to reduce the pain as much as possible. The heart is stopped for the surgery, therefore a heart-lung machine or equipment is used to do the work of heart for the time the surgery is being done. Two type of surgery is being done; one involves replacement of single lung while other involves replacement of both the lungs from diseased body to healthy human body. In case of single lung transplant, a single cut is being made in one side of chest and lung is being transferred. This process requires 4 to 6 hours duration. Usually the lung with the worst and severe condition is properly removed from the body of the patient. While in case of double lung transplant, the cut is made below the breasts so as to reach both the lungs. A heart lung bypass machine is used in this 6 to 12 hours duration surgery, which is used to provide oxygen and in order to move blood from the body during the surgery.

After the surgery, patient is placed in the ventilator for at least two days in order to takes over the whole breathing procedure. The patient is recommended to stay in the medical institution for at least two or three weeks. Double lung transplant is more preferred over single lung transplant and that is why they recommended bilateral lung transplant more to the patients whenever possible. People having diseases like different kinds of pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (etc…) can survive with single lung transplant only but those with severe conditions of cystic fibrosis require bilateral lung transplant only.

Proper analysis of lung tissue fiber is very essential, as in some cases the transplant lung is rejected by the patient’s body which may result in death as well. There are many cases where patient who just had lung transplant surgery have to take special precautions in order to avoid any sorts of lung infections for few starting months. As soon as the body is used to the new breathing system, patient survives for five or even eight years. The time duration of survival is never fixed and the reason of sudden rejection of body towards to transplant lung is still not figured out by even the expert doctors and physicians.