Second Wind: Oral Histories of Lung Transplant Survivors

Palgrave Studies in Oral History

by Mary Jo Festle

Organ transplantation is unlike most other medical procedures: its key component (a useable human organ) is incredibly rare, and this scarcity has led to many social, ethical, and legal issues, which have played out in hospitals, popular media, and the halls of Congress. This book uses both oral and conventional historical methods to describe and analyze the history of lung transplantation in the U.S. While drawing on accounts from doctors and other specialists, the book primarily focuses on the experiences of patients, following them through the process of deterioration from their disease, evaluation for a transplant, the often agonizing wait to be called, and the postoperative period in which the dangers of infection and rejection hover and psychological issues are difficult. Through the words of patients who have received lung transplants,Second Windexplores themes of uncertainty, timing, identity, coping, and quality of life.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 2012

Reviews

[Jim Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excerpts from oral history interviews reveal the physical and psychological challenges of deciding to pursue a transplant, waiting for a donor organ, and adapting to a new life with a lung from someone who died.

Mystery novel involving uncovering an illegal organ transplant ring