Donation after cardiac death for lung transplant: a case study

In late 2009, Gift of Life Michigan facilitated a donation after cardiac death lung recovery resulting in the first set of donation after cardiac death lungs to be utilized by a Michigan transplant center. Although placing lungs obtained via donation after cardiac death is more difficult because of a multitude of factors, the transplant coordinators, in conjunction with the transplant center, overcame several obstacles in order to transplant the lungs with good outcomes so far. Lung donation after cardiac death is becoming a more acceptable method of decreasing the length of the transplant waiting list as more data are becoming available.