Commentary: Less waste —More lives saved!

The use rate of donor lungs in lung transplantation has always been lower than the rates associated with other organs. Currently, we transplant less than 20% of lungs initially offered.1,2 The lungs are the only organ with direct exposure to the outside environment; as such, they are acutely vulnerable to pneumonia, atelectasis, contusion, and aspiration. Historically, we have assessed the quality of donor lungs based on donor characteristics (eg, age, lifestyle), radiographic imaging (chest radiograph and computed tomography), and organ function (partial pressure of oxygen on 100% oxygen, or P/F ratio).
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research