Living Donation Procedures

Lung

Although the first living lung donation occurred in 1990, not all transplant centers perform living lung transplants. If you are considering donating a part of your lung to a friend or family member, contact their transplant center. It is also important to talk to the transplant team about their experience and success rates.

A set of lungs has five lobes—two on the left and three on the right. Living lung donation requires two donors--one person giving one lobe, or portion of their left lung, and the other giving a lobe of their right lung. The two lobes are transplanted into a single recipient. The donors' lungs must be the appropriate size and volume. As with any living donation transplant, potential donors will undergo a series of medical and psychological tests.

Reference and Publication Information

United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. The content on this page was originally created on February 25, 2005 by UNOS and last modified on March 24, 2005.

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