Extended criteria donor organ use for heart-lung transplantation in the modern era

Demand for donor hearts and lungs exceeds their supply. Extended Criteria Donor (ECD) organs are used to help meet this demand, but their impact on heart-lung transplantation outcomes is poorly characterized.

The United Network for Organ Sharing was queried for data on adult heart-lung transplantation recipients (n = 447) from 2005‒2021. Recipients were stratified based on whether they received ECD hearts and/or lungs. Morbidity was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests. Mortality was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimation, log-rank tests and Cox regression. Sixty-five (14.5%) patients received two ECD organs, 134 (30.0%) received only an ECD lung, and 65 (14.5%) only an ECD heart. Recipients of two ECD organs were older, more likely to have diabetes, and more likely transplanted from 2015‒2021 (p < 0.05). Groups did not differ by pre-transplant diagnosis, intensive care unit disposition, life support use, or hemodynamics. Group five-year survival rates ranged from 54.5% to 63.2% (p = 0.428). Groups did not differ by 30-day mortality, strokes, graft rejection, or hospital length of stay.

Using ECD hearts and/or lungs for heart-lung transplantation is not associated with increased mortality and is a safe strategy for increasing donor organ supply in this complex patient population.