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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
Establishment of a Novel Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System for Rat Lungs After Circulatory Death
Published on: October 18, 2024
Establishment of an ex vivo lung perfusion model using non-heart-beating large pigs
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan. tokamoto@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Background:
Functional evaluation of potentially damaged lungs donated after cardiac death is crucial for widespread clinical transplantation. To date, the mean weight of animals used in studies of ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) has been 60 kg; however, in the clinical setting, donor weight may be greater.
Objective:
To investigate EVLP using lungs from large pigs (mean weight, 115 kg) to simulate human adult lungs donated after cardiac death.
Materials And Methods:
Five heart-lung blocks were obtained at 20 minutes after death at the slaughterhouse. The lungs were flushed and preserved on ice for 6 hours before being connected to an ex vivo lung circuit, and were perfused for at least 2 hours.
Results:
In all cases, perfusion was sustained for at least 2 hours. Mean (SEM) final flow rate was 4.9 (0.1) L/min, pulmonary artery pressure was 14.8 (1.7) mm Hg, and oxygen tension/fraction of inspired oxygen was 518.0 (18.0) mm Hg. The shunt fraction was 20.5% (4.0%). Histologic analysis demonstrated no significant pulmonary edema at the end of perfusion.
Conclusion:
We successfully completed EVLP using lungs from large pigs.
