The Advent of Semi-Elective Lung Transplantation-Prolonged Static Cold Storage at 10°C

Since the early days of clinical lung transplantation the preservation of donor organs has become a fairly standardized procedure and most centers do follow similar processes. This includes the use of low-potassium high dextran flush solutions and static cold storage (SCS) in a cooler filled with ice. Depending on the length of SCS, organs usually arrive at the recipient hospital at a temperature of 0°C-4°C. The question of the optimal storage temperature for donor lung preservation has been revisited as data from large animal experiments demonstrated that organs stored at 10°C experience less mitochondrial damage. Thus, prolonged cold ischemic times can be better tolerated at 10°C-even in pre-damaged organs. The clinical applicability of these findings was demonstrated in an international multi-center observational study including three high-volume lung transplant centers. Total clinical preservation times of up to 24 hrs have been successfully achieved in organs stored at 10°C without hampering primary organ function and short-term outcomes. Currently, a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) is recruiting patients with the aim to compare standard SCS on ice with prolonged SCS protocol at 10°C. If, as anticipated, this RCT confirms data from previous studies, lung transplantation could indeed become a semi-elective procedure.