Right Lungs

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Anchor lead: What are the considerations in matching lungs to recipients? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Matching lungs available for transplant to the appropriate recipient is a complex business, with a multitude of factors requiring integration. That’s according to Errol Bush, surgical director of lung transplantation at Johns Hopkins.

Bush: When we’re considering an organ that may be suitable for a potential recipient we want to make sure that the blood types are correct, that the size matches, and that the organ function is adequate for the intended recipient. In lung transplantation the mechanism of injury for the donor is usually a traumatic incident, and during the process of that trauma or injury, the donors actually sometimes develop a pneumonia where they have actual physical damage to the lungs. Most of these injuries are recoverable.  :30

Bush says the good news is a technique called ex vivo lung perfusion may help make many more organs available for people who need them, as well as expanding the time window during which transplants can take place. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.