Severe lung damage has been a serious outcome for COVID-19 patients who survive and face recovery from the disease.

"As we know, lungs are one of the major organs that are involved with COVID infection," says Dr. Sadia Shah, a Mayo Clinic transplant pulmonologist and critical care physician. "In severe cases, the patient's lungs can be significantly inflamed from the disease, leading to pneumonia and scarring of the lungs, also known as pulmonary fibrosis." She says that, in the future, these are the patients who may need a lung transplant.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Shah talks about COVID-19 lung damage, the speculation there will be an increased need for lung transplants, and what improvements are being made in the field of lung transplantation.