New Approaches in TransplantationThoracic transplantationFeasibility of Lung Transplantation From Donation After Circulatory Death Donors Following Portable Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion: A Pilot Study

•Donation after circulatory death (DCD) lungs are underutilized for transplantation.•Portable ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a feasible modality to increase confidence in utilizing DCD lungs.•EVLP provides objective evidence of lung function that translates to acceptable clinical outcomes and quality of life post-transplantation.

BackgroundDonation after circulatory death (DCD) has the potential to significantly alleviate the shortage of transplantable lungs. We report our initial experience with the use of portable ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) with the Organ Care System Lung device for evaluation of DCD lungs.MethodsWe performed a retrospective review of the DCD lung transplantation (LTx) experience at a single institution through the use of a prospective database.ResultsFrom 2011 to 2015, 208 LTx were performed at the University of Alberta, of which 11 were DCD LTx with 7 (64%) that underwent portable EVLP. DCD lungs preserved with portable EVLP had a significantly shorter cold ischemic time (161 ± 44 vs 234 ± 60 minutes, P = .045), lower grade of primary graft dysfunction at 72 hours after LTx (0.4 ± 0.5 vs 2.1 ± 0.7, P = .003), similar mechanical ventilation time (55 ± 44 vs 103 ± 97 hours, P = .281), and hospital length of stay (29 ± 11 vs 33 ± 10 days, P = .610). All patients were alive at 1-year follow-up after LTx with improved functional outcomes and acceptable quality of life compared with before LTx, although there were no intergroup differences.ConclusionsIn our pilot cohort, portable EVLP was a feasible modality to increase confidence in the use of DCD lungs with validated objective evidence of lung function during EVLP that translates to acceptable clinical outcomes and quality of life after LTx. Further studies are needed to validate these initial findings in a larger cohort.