Current status of living-donor lobar lung transplantation

In living-donor lobar lung transplantation (LDLLT), 2 healthy donors donate their right or left lower lobe. Although graft size is relatively small, LDLLT provides adequate pulmonary function to the recipient. In 1998, Okayama University group reported 1st successful LDLLT in Japan. Since then, 103 clinical lung transplants have been performed in Japan. Among them 65 were LDLLT because of the difficulty in obtaining cadaveric lungs. The survival after LDLLT appears to be similar to or better than International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation registry data on cadaveric lung transplantation. In this review, current status and problem of LDLLT are discussed.