"Hanging donors": are we still skeptical about the lungs?

Suicidal hanging may cause compression of the neck blood vessels and the airway leading, to hypoxic brain damage caused by cerebral ischemia and respiratory distress. Hanging engenders global tissue hypoxia, particularly affecting the lungs as the result of pulmonary edema and barotrauma. There is scant evidence about outcomes of transplantation with the use of lungs from "hanging donors." This study evaluates the outcomes of lung transplantations (LTx) that use organs from this group.

We retrospectively analyzed lung "organ offers" and LTx at our center between January 2007 and November 2013. The outcomes of LTx with lungs from donors with hanging as the cause of death ("hanging group") were compared with those with donors having other causes of death (control group), with the use of an unadjusted model as well as propensity score matching.

LTx (n = 302) were performed during this period and were grouped on the basis of the cause of death in donors: the hanging group (n = 8) and the control group (n = 294). No statistically significant difference was found in the donor characteristics except for the incidence of cardiac arrest, which was significantly higher in hanging donors. Preoperative characteristics in recipients in both groups were comparable. Intra-operative and post-LTx variables including PaO2/FiO2 ratios, duration of mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit and hospital stays were comparable. One-year and 3-year survival rates were also comparable in both groups. Two recipients in the hanging group required extracorporeal life support after LTx and could not survive.

Suicidal hanging is a relatively rare cause of death for potential organ donors. Because it does not appear to negatively affect outcomes after LTx, it should not be considered per se a contraindication for lung donation. A word of caution is necessary until we gather larger experience with lungs from hanging donors.