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Extending the donor pool: rehabilitation of poor organs
Marcelo Cypel1, Shaf Keshavjee2
1Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth Street, 9N-969, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4, Canada.
Abstract:
The number of patients listed for lung transplantation exceeds the number of available transplantable organs because of a shortage of organ donors and a low utilization rate of donated lungs. A novel strategy of donor lung management, called ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) can keep the organ in a physiologic protective condition, and promises to increase lung utilization by reevaluating, treating, and repairing donor lungs before transplantation. Preclinical studies have shown great potential for EVLP as a platform for the delivery of novel therapies to repair injured organs ex vivo and improve the success of lung transplantation.