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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Thermal Preconditioning During Ex-vivo Lung Perfusion for the Rehabilitation of Damaged Lung Grafts before Transplantation
Published on: October 31, 2025
Effective 6-hour preservation in non-heart-beating donor canine lungs with topical cooling: assessment from
Masaru Kurokawa1, Isao Matsumoto, Makoto Oda
1Department of General and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Purpose:
This study assesses the possibility of preserving and transplanting non-heart-beating donor (NHBD) lungs under topical cooling for 6 h.
Methods:
The donor dogs were killed and heparinized after cardiac arrest. After 10 min of cardiac massage, the bilateral lungs were deflated. In group 1 (n = 6), the recipient dogs were transplanted and the lungs preserved at 4 degrees C for 6 h. In group 2 (n = 2), the recipients received lungs preserved at room temperature for 4 h. In both groups the right main bronchus, pulmonary artery, and pulmonary vein were clamped and ventilated to examine the lung function.
Results:
The mean total ischemic time before reperfusion was 7 h 48 min (group 1) and 5 h 55 min (group 2). All dogs in group 1 survived with excellent hemodynamics and gas exchange function. Both dogs in group 2 revealed congestion immediately after reperfusion, and consequently died.
Conclusions:
We concluded that it is possible to use NHBD lungs for clinical lung transplantation if topical cooling can be initiated soon after irreversible cardiac arrest. Topical cooling of NHBD lungs allows at least 6 h for preparation before transplantation.
