I live in the Cleveland area and had a double lung transplant 6 months ago. A life changing event. I can breath again.. I am 64 and smoked for 40 years. I had stage 4 emphysema. The doctor I was going to was not a fan of transplants, but then again, he wasn't the one who couldn't breath. I changed doctors and the new one referred me to a transplant team. After many tests and several months later, I was put on the list. I was told it would be at least a year before I could expect the call. To be honest, I didn't think I would last another year but it was a light at the end of the tunnel. A dim light and a very long tunnel, Good luck, breath easy.

Each area of country has some sight differences. I went to Emory in Atlanta and was required to have quit smoking 6 months, took 5 breathing test , gave 32 tubes of blood for testing, had to walk for 6 minutes . It is a hard choice to make and took a lot of prayer on my part to make my choice on having a transplant.

As far as a lung transplant talk to your Pulmonary Doctor. Yes, you will be considered if you have not smoked for 6 months. You will have to take a urine test once a month for 6 months. You will have to be able to walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes. Your lung function will have to be down to about 12 to 13%. That's if you have COPD. I don't know where you live, but that's what I've done and I live in MO. My lung function isn't low enough yet and I'm not sure if I want to do it.

You need to find a center that does lung transplants and see if your doc won't refer you for an evaluation. Many of the people who get transplants smoked at one point in their lives, and for many of them that's the reason they need the TX in the first place, so yes, ex-smokers are definitely considered. Once you're evaluated, they will let you know whether you'll go on the list or not. Typically they won't put you on the list unless they believe you have less than two years to live. Wanda certainly has the rest pretty much right, though the requirements are different between centers.

No if you smoke they allow you 6months to stop & take tests to ensure there is no nicotine in your system . Surgeons believe that Why would they give new lungs to candidate who is not helping themselves to continue to smoke also ( for someone to have lung transplant will go smoke again on new lungs so be contradicting in it's
Self ( hope if you do get the new lease off life with lung transplant you get support to stop smoking . Think positive live go rehab get strong hope you do get lung transplant ( have to wasn't the lung transplant more than a cig ) that worked for me it's hard but you will do it inner strength hope . God luck all the best Bernadette x