When are lung transplants performed? What are the risks of lung transplants?

In most cases, a lung transplant is done only after all other treatments for lung failure are unsuccessful. Lung transplants may be recommended for people under age 65 who have severe lung diseases. The major risk of a lung transplant is organ rejection. This happens when your immune system attacks your donor lung as if it were a disease. Severe rejection could lead to failure of the donated lung. Other serious complications can arise from the drugs used to prevent rejection.