Donor lungs better, stronger, faster: New transplant tech extends organ life outside human body

TV's Oscar Goldmanmight have claimedthe ability to rebuild the human body in the 70sshow The Six Million Dollar Man, but 21st century B.C.surgeons can finally lay claim to the technology thatallows it.

The Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Program is centred around a new machine at Vancouver General Hospital that is paving the way for surgeons to providebetter, stronger donor lungs with faster access to life-savingtransplants.

The lung perfusion systemallows lungs to live outside the body for up to 12 hours after retrieval.

A set of lungsthat might otherwisebe rejected for transplant can be reassessed, even repaired and reconditioned in a bubble-like machine usingbloodlessoxygenated liquid and a ventilator toforce airin and out of the lungs.

What itmeans for patients represents a sea change in both the number of availabledonors, and the length of the average wait time.

Last year, doctorsat VGHperformed 50 double lung transplants. Using ex vivo, that number is expected to increase to about 60, according to the B.C. Lung Transplant Program. The hope is to also reduce patient deaths on the transplant wait list.

"We are constantly striving to save more lives and provide better care through innovation," saidprovincial executive director Ed Ferre.

"The Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Program offers hope to all those on the wait-list."

The B.C. Lung Transplant Program at VGH is one of four such programs in Canada and offers life-saving treatment for end-stage lung disease.