What Does a Lung Transplant Cost in India?

Lung transplant cost in India isn’t a single number you can hold up. It shifts with the centre, whether it’s a single or double lung, how long the patient waits, whether ECMO support kicks in before the donor arrives, ICU duration, and the lifelong immunosuppression that follows. Insurance coverage changes the picture again. A real estimate needs the patient’s clinical picture, not just the procedure name.

According to Dr. Vishal Khullar, an expert in Lung transplant in Mumbai, Lung transplant is one of the most resource-heavy operations in cardiothoracic surgery. The cost rarely sits in a tidy range, because every patient’s journey to and through it is different.

Some factors move the total far more than others. Knowing them helps avoid surprises.

Single vs double lung: Double lung transplant costs significantly more than single. The operation is longer, the ICU stay typically extends, and the donor logistics double.

ECMO before transplant: Patients who need ECMO support while waiting for donor lungs accumulate daily ICU and consumable costs. That can run for weeks.

Complications: Rejection episodes, infections, repeat ICU admissions. Most packages cover routine recovery, not complications, and these are billed separately.

Insurance and charitable funding: Some private insurers cover part of the cost. Charitable trusts and corporate health funds sometimes fill the gap. What the patient pays out of pocket varies hugely.

So the range matters less than the breakdown. Lung transplant is reserved for end-stage disease, and the cost reflects the scale of care required.

Dr. Vishal Khullar is the Director of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Heart & Lung Transplant at Fortis Hospital Mulund and Fortis S L Raheja Hospital, Mumbai. Over 30 years in the field. Training at Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic in the USA. More than 300 heart and lung transplants behind him, with experience in pre-transplant ECMO support and post-operative management.

His team gives patients an itemised cost discussion up front. Insurance coordination, pre-authorisation, and post-op medication budgeting all get handled before admission. No surprises on the discharge bill.

• MedlinePlus (NIH) – Lung Transplant: 
• NHLBI (NIH) – Lung Transplantation Research: