Smokers’ lungs should be used for transplants… really?

If you're on a waiting list for a new lung would you take the chances with a smoker's lung or would you prefer to wait for God knows how long?

New research published in the online version of The Lancet suggests that the survival rates for patients waiting for a lung transplant could be improved if lungs from smokers were used. Makes sense.

Professor Robert Bonser of the University of Birmingham, looked into the subject and according to him patients have a much better chance of survival if they choose a suitable donor regardless of whether the lung they receive is from a smoker or not. Well, a new lung is a new lung.

The study carried out by the University of Birmingham looked at transplants that took place between July 1, 1999 and Dec 31, 2010 and during that time two out of five lungs used for transplants came from smokers.

However, it was found that people who received the lungs from smokers were 46% more likely to die after three years of the operation reports Irish Health – that doesn’t sound too good.

The up side is that receiving a lung from a smoker made patients 21 per cent less likely to die while waiting on a list.

"Although lungs from such donors are associated with worse outcomes, the individual probability of survival is greater if they are accepted than if they are declined and the patient chooses to wait for a potential transplant from a donor with a negative smoking history" says Professor Bonser.

It begs the question, if you were on a waiting list would you take your chances with a smokers lung or would you continue to wait some more?