RESUMEN
AIM: Although donorship issues and the integration of the new organs are the most distinguishing aspects of lung transplantation (LTx) compared to other kinds of 'high-tech' medicine, there is a paucity of papers on that matter. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate these aspects in young adult LTx recipients with at least 1-year survival. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews; content analysis of specific parts of the interviews; frequency distributions of resulting categories. SAMPLE: Forty-five adults aged 18-42 years (mean: 32 +/- 5.5 years). Post-transplant survival ranged from 1 to 11 years. RESULTS: The majority of recipients (60%) fulfilled criteria of denial towards the foreign organ and/or the donor. However, they were rather sensitive towards the ethical and psychological impact of the upcoming option of living donorship in LTx. Also, the majority of recipients (79%) understood that there might as well be good reason not to opt for a LTx. CONCLUSIONS: LTx recipients appeared at first sight 'pragmatic' towards the gift of life, but they remained sensitive to its ethical and psychological challenges.