People on the lung transplant waiting list should accept lungs from smokers according to a new study.
Researchers in the U.K. studied the survival rates of more than 2,000 lung transplant recipients. About two out of five patients received lungs from former smokers.
They found patients who accepted lungs from smokers were more likely to die than those who were given non-smokers' lungs. However, they had a lower chance of dying that those still on the waiting list.
Doctors say there is rarely an "ideal" organ available for transplant and that the most important factors are blood type and the size of the lungs.
