what is the cutoff age for getting a lung transplant?

Question

i have a relative that is 69 and needing one due to lung disease but the doctor told him since he was of that age more than likely he would be passed over on the list. is this true?

Answer 1

It is basically true, but last year the criteria for transplant lists and priorities was revised. More emphasis is placed on patient need, rather than how long he/she has been on the list. I don't know the specifics, but someone I know was 60 at the time, and was told at NY Presbyterian Hospital she would not be excluded because of age. The typical wait time was 1 - 3 years. Your relative's doctor should be able to find out in detail, but 69 now would mean 70-72 for surgery, so maybe he would be passed by. If your relative can get by with supplemental oxygen and drugs such as Prednisone or others, he/she might be better off not getting a transplant, as the typical survival is only 5 years.

Answer 2

Good evening. I'm a 39 year old Cystic Fibrosis patient that is two years post bi-lateral lung transplant.

Each transplant center has different criteria for performing transplants, including age. That doesn't mean that if your relative went through the evaluation process he wouldn't possibly be listed as an exception but the chances of that are extremely low. Given his age, I would suggest looking for lung transplant centers that have newer programs or ones that possibly don't have as high success rates as the more prominent programs. While that sounds rather dooming, if your relative is at the point he needs a lung transplant then he has nothing to lose by going with one of the "lesser" programs.

Lungs, unfortunately, are one of the more difficult organs to obtain for transplant. Even aside from the lack of overall donors, lungs are easily damaged through every day life from people smoking, chemicals, etc. and they are almost always too severely damaged in auto accidents, etc. to be viable for transplant.

Best wishes and good luck.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, it is true. They look to how much life expectancy is left and young people with lung disease are looked at first. So sorry, I'm in the same situation with a relative now.

Answer 4

Yes. Unfortunately, the surgery requires general anesthesia, and it is not a short operation. Most people who die on the operating table die on account of the anesthesia, and people over 60 die a lot more than people under 40. In addition anesthesia knocks the hell out of older people. Being frail rules one out for many different types of surgery. Sad, but true.