Lungs of 20-a-Day Smoker Turns Cancerous After Transplant into Cystic Fibrosis Patient

Twenty-seven year old Jennifer Wederell was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a very young age. Her brother had succumbed to the illness and she needed a double lung transplant to survive.

Very much in love, she wanted to get married, yet put it off for two years in the hope of finding a healthy transplant organ which would give her the new lease of life.

Last year Jennifer Wederell underwent a double lung transplant and post recovery she also experienced the most momentous day of her life- her wedding.

Little did she know that the months to follow were going to be one of the most agonizing periods of her life. Barely a year after the transplant, she began to feel ill again and this time it was lung cancer.

The disease had started in the donated lungs. Doctors told her that the disease had spread to other parts of the body and she just had a few weeks to live. She was never kept in picture that the organs given to her for transplant were from somebody who smoked almost 20 cigarettes a day. She would have never agreed to receive unhealthy lungs, if she was just aware of it.

Jennifer died a few weeks after her diagnosis, but her parents are determined to make the public aware about the importance of ascertaining the complete facts before deciding on a transplant surgery. Statistics reveal that 39% of lungs used in transplants are from smokers and the bereaved family is now on an initiative to spread the word about such practices in organ transplantation.



Source: Medindia