Lung donation after circulatory death: A single-centre experience with uncontrolled donors with some considerations

Introduction

Organ shortage represents one of the main issues associated with lung transplantation (LTx). Over the years, in an attempt to increase the donor pool, the use of donors after cardiac death (DCDs) has gradually increased, with good results that bode well for their wider use in the future.

Methods

In this work, our experience with DCDs is presented. In addition, a brief literature review on controlled (c) and uncontrolled (u) DCDs was performed on the studies published in the last four years.

Results

From 2018 to 2022 our center performed three LTx with DCDs. All the donors were uDCDs (Maastricht class II). The median warm ischemic time of the graft was 160 min. In all the three LTx, lungs were reconditioned using portable Ex-Vivo-Lung-Perfusion (EVLP) system (Organ Care System, OCS, TransMedics) for a median time of 535 min. All the three LTx were performed with an intraoperative veno-arterial extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO), which was prolonged postoperatively in one patient.

Grade 3 primary graft disfunction (PGD) at 72 h was observed in one patient. No signs of acute rejection were observed in any patient at the surveillance transbronchial biopsies. One patient died 317 after LTx for consequences of a lung adenocarcinoma diagnosed in the native lung, while the other two are still alive with a preserved graft function.

Summary

The most recent studies confirm similar results between DCDs and DBDs in terms of survival and graft function. Good results can also be achieved in uDCDs if standardized protocols are followed and graft function is monitored by EVLP.

Hence, the use of DCDs represents a valid solution to expand the donor pool.