Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit Receives New Lung

STOCKHOLM, June 17 (Bernama-dpa) -- Severely ill Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit has had a successful lung transplant operation, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing an announcement by the royal family on Wednesday.

Mette-Marit, 52, suffers from the incurable condition pulmonary fibrosis, which causes scarring of the lung tissue and makes breathing difficult. In her daily life, the wife of Crown Prince Haakon has been using an oxygen tank. 

The Royal Palace in Oslo announced on June 5 that Mette-Marit had been placed on the waiting list for a new lung. 

The number of potential organ donors in Norway rose dramatically in the aftermath of the announcement, according to Norwegian news agency NTB, which cited the country’s Organ Donation Foundation.

To qualify for the lung-transplant waiting list, patients are generally expected to have a life expectancy of about one year without a transplant.

-- BERNAMA-dpa