In most lung transplants, the healthy lungs that are transplanted into the sick subject come from a recently deceased donor.
However, there is the possibility of transplanting even lungs from living donors .
Generally, a live donor lung transplant is carried out between people belonging to the same family and requires two donors. In fact, the lower part of the right lung is taken from a donor and the lower part of the left lung is taken from the other donor.
After that, the procedure is very similar to that performed during dead-donor lung transplants; which means that the surgeon removes the two diseased lungs from the patient and inserts the two healthy lungs just taken.
Live donor lung transplantation is mainly practiced in cases of cystic fibrosis, as a last remedy after all other possible treatments have failed.
Given the conditions necessary to be able to perform it (two compatible donors), it is a very rarely practiced procedure.
