system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why do lung transplant patients have a poorer long-term outlook than other organ recipients? Do we know what causes this?
gpt
Healthcare professional here. This is multifactorial. The most common reason is patients with a LIFELONG  history of smoking which results in COPD. There are other causes but this is generally the most common cause. Post lung transplants require extensive immunosupresssive therapy which also has a number of adverse effects. It also doesn’t stop the rejection 100% entirely, rather it only slows it down. The lungs are highly vascular so preventing an immune response from occurring ever is not realistic. They WILL develop some form of organ rejection over time, though with appropriate therapy this can be delayed. These patients also tend to be typically older. Age will always be a contributing factor to survival rate especially after surgery. Also the years of smoking sky rocket their incidences of cancer as well which could also play a factor.