Ex vivo lung perfusion allows successful transplantation of donor lungs from hanging victims.

BACKGROUND: Donor lungs acquired from victims of asphyxiation by hanging are not routinely used for lung transplantation because of the associated lung injury. Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a technique to evaluate marginal donor lungs before transplantation. We report here our experience with the use of EVLP in donor lungs procured from victims of asphyxia by hanging.

METHODS: Lungs from 5 donors who became brain dead secondary to hanging were evaluated by EVLP. Donor organs were perfused according to trial protocol. Donor lungs were accepted for transplantation if they maintained a PaO2 greater than or equal to 350 mm Hg, had a clear roentgenogram, and had no significant worsening of physiologic metrics.

RESULTS: Perfused organs included single and double lung blocs, and all were perfused without technical incident. Three of the 5 donor organs evaluated met criteria for transplantation after 3 hours of EVLP and were transplanted. Donor organs rejected for transplantation showed either signs of worsening PaO2 or deterioration of physiologic metrics. There were no intraoperative complications in the patients who underwent transplantation, and all were alive at 30 days.

CONCLUSIONS: We report here the successful use of EVLP to assess donor lungs acquired from victims of asphyxiation by hanging. The use of EVLP in this particular group of donors has the potential to expand the available donor pool. We demonstrate that EVLP is a viable option for evaluating the function of lung allografts before transplantation and would recommend that all donor lungs obtained from hanging victims undergo EVLP to assess their suitability for transplantation.