Donor and Recipient Age in Interstitial Lung Disease: Types of Lung Transplant Survival Outcomes

Introduction: Lung transplantation is the last option for patients with end-stage interstitial lung disease (ILD), yet organ allocation remains a challenge. This single-center study investigated the correlation of procedure type and donor and recipient age with survival outcomes in patients with ILD. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of lung recipients diagnosed with ILD who were transplanted in our center. Survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves and logrank tests according to the following variables: double lung transplant (DLT) or single lung transplant (SLT), recipient age <65 and >65, recipient sex, donor sex, and donor age. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed using the same variables. P values < 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Of 969 lung recipients transplanted at our center, 648 (66.8%) were diagnosed with ILD. There was no significant difference in survival for patients <65 or >65 when compared by DLT versus SLT. There were no significant differences in survival based on donor age. Survival at 5 y was significantly higher for recipient age <65 versus >65 (P = 0.0014). For DLT patients <65 or >65, there was no significant survival difference. However, for SLT patients, survival at 5 y was significantly higher for patients <65 (P = 0.0109). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that donor age did not have a significant association with survival of patients with ILD posttransplant. In older patients with ILD, there was no significant difference for DLT versus SLT. However, within the SLT group, younger patients with ILD showed better survival compared to older patients.