[Lung transplantation with the aid of living donors]

In certain centres, following the practice in liver and kidney transplantation, lung transplantation programmes have been set up in which two healthy living donors undergo removal of the right lower lobe and the left lower lobe, respectively, which are then implanted bilaterally in the recipient in place of the usual whole right and left post-mortem lungs: 'living donor lobar lung transplantation'. The relatively high morbidity in the donors and the complicated procedure constitute obstacles to worldwide application. Besides medical problems, the procedure also raises ethical questions. Whether living donor lobar lung transplantation should also be applied in the Netherlands can only be answered following a broad public, ethical and medical discussion. In the meantime, the lung transplant centres may analyse the prerequisites and make the necessary preparations.