As a result of the lack of available donor organs, transplant teams have to assess potential recipients very carefully. They need to establish whether there are problems, or factors, that may result in the donation proving unsuccessful. The assessment may reveal that the risks of a heart-lung transplant outweigh the benefits.
Contraindications
Healthcare professionals use the term ‘contraindication’ to describe factors, or problems, that mean that a person is not suitable for a particular treatment.
There are two types of contraindication:
- absolute contraindication means a person should not, under any circumstances, be offered a treatment
- relative contraindication means that while the treatment would generally not be recommend, there may be special circumstances in which treatment could go ahead
Absolute contraindications
Absolute contraindications for a heart-lung transplant include:
- being over 65 years of age and having another serious health condition
- having blood poisoning (septicaemia)
- having an incurable form of cancer
- currently misusing alcohol or drugs
- currently smoking
- having a mental health condition, such as schizophrenia, that means you are highly unlikely to comply with the treatment that will be required during the recovery period, such as taking immunosuppressant medication
Relative contraindications
Relative contraindications for a heart-lung transplant include:
- having HIV
- having hepatitis B
- having hepatitis C
- being obese
- having severe diabetes that has caused damage to your organs
- having severe osteoporosis (brittle bones) because many of the medications that are used in the recovery period can weaken bones
