Purpose of review: Patients undergoing re-transplantation constitute a growing proportion of annual lung transplants. It is necessary to consider ethical considerations of re-transplantation in parallel with clinical progress.
Recent findings: Most clinical data demonstrate patients undergoing re-transplantation have worse survival outcomes; however, there is limited discussion of the ethical principles surrounding re-transplantation. Ethical guidance in re-transplantation trails clinical advancement.
Summary: The four-box model offers a valuable framework for assessing the ethical considerations in re-transplantation. This includes an analysis of medical indications, patient preferences, quality-of-life and contextual factors to support the ethical use of scarce donor lungs.
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