The procedure is limited to those suffering pulmonary fibrosis and is not considered suitable for more common lung diseases such as emphysema, lung cancer and cystic fibrosis. In emphysema, the remaining lung can continue to expand, crowding the transplanted lung. In lung cancer, the disease spreads to other parts of the body.

For cystic fibrosis, the remaining lung, which would tend to be chronically infected, could cause infection in the transplanted lung. Heart-lung transplants, in which both lungs are transplanted, have been successfully used to treat cystic fibrosis at Johns Hopkins University and at Stanford University Medical Center.