Researchers confirm successful rehabilitation and recovery of human donor lungs previously deemed unfit for transplant

A novel method for supporting and recovering donor lungs outside the body shows potential to increase the number of organs available for transplant, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. The organ shortage crisis is increasingly dire, as thousands of patients die every year waiting to receive donor organs. Despite urgent demand, nearly 80% of donated lungs are too damaged for transplantation, often due to reversible conditions. A cross-disciplinary team of surgeons and bioengineers from Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Stanford University, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, and Xylyx Bio collaborated to develop a new technique called ‘xenogeneic cross-circulation’, which involves temporarily connecting a human donor lung to a live pig to support and resuscitate the human organ outside the body. Read more >>