Smokers’ lungs make good transplants

New research shows that people given the lungs of smokers are just as likely to be alive up to three years after transplantation as those who receive organs from non-smokers, according to a story by Roger Dobson for The Independent newspaper. In some cases, they had improved survival rates.

“Donor lungs from even heavy smokers may provide a valuable avenue for increasing donor organ availability,” says André Simon, director of heart and lung transplantation and consultant cardiac surgeon at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS [National Health Service] Trust, UK.

“Our findings provide for the first time real world figures for the perceived risk of implantation of lungs from donors with even a heavy smoking history, and they show that such donor lungs may provide a much-needed lease on life to the critically ill patient whose chances of survival diminish with every day or week that passes by on the waiting list.

“I believe that candidates significantly decrease their chances of survival if they choose to decline organs from smokers.”

The full story is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/smokers-lungs-used-in-half-of-transplants-9101647.html