During the Transplant

Heart/Lung

Arriving at the Hospital

The process of being admitted and preparing for transplant surgery can vary greatly. Talk to your physician about how your transplant hospital will handle this phase of the process.

The Procedure

The donated heart and lungs come from a deceased donor. After the donor heart and lungs are removed, preserved and packed for transport, they must be transplanted into the recipient within four to five hours. The recipient receives general anesthesia and is placed on a ventilator and bypass machine to oxygenate the blood while the transplant is being performed. After the recipient's heart and lungs are removed, the donor organs are prepared to fit and implantation begins.

Because the length of this surgery is different for every patient, families should talk with the surgeon about what to expect.

During Recovery

Postoperative care begins with a team of heath professionals within the hospital. Careful, comprehensive post-surgical monitoring constantly evaluates whether the body is accepting the new organ. In addition, the amount of time you spend in the recovery room, waking up and getting to the point that you're ready to go home, will vary from patient to patient. Because individual experience after recovery is so unique, it is important to discuss with your physician what to expect after surgery.

Reference and Publication Information

The United Network for Organ Sharing is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. To learn more about our content authorship and review process, please read about our Editorial Board.

The content on this page was originally created on August 1, 2003 by the United Network for Organ Sharing and last modified on October 10, 2003. The following sources were used as references:

National Library of Medicine, retrieved June 1, 2003.

Blood, Margaret S., MSN, RN, et al. Ed. Franki Chabalewski. "Nursing Care of the Heart Transplant Recipient." UNOS Donation and Transplantation Nursing Curriculum. 1996

This web site is intended solely for the purpose of electronically providing the public with general health-related information and convenient access to the data resources. UNOS is not affiliated with any one product nor does UNOS assume responsibility for any error, omissions or other discrepancies.