Will A Lung Transplant Change A Person's Life? Dr. Ross Bremner: The thing about lung transplant is as soon as you get your new lungs, you can breathe properly again, and so patients actually are really struggling to breathe when they are on their transplant list and usually are on oxygen 24-hours-a-day. They get their new lungs, and all of a sudden they now have great exercise capacity. They can now have social life and get around without their oxygen. So, the life changes remarkable.