Excision and Storage of the Donor Lungs

The expansion of organ transplantation over the past 10 years has led to further stresses on an already limited donor pool and to an increasing shortage of suitable organs[1]. In an effort to meet this need, centralized registries of potential recipients were developed to prioritize recipients and to ensure access to donors at distant sites. These programs were able to expand as improved means of donor organ preservation were developed. However, the demand for organ donors has exceeded the supply despite an intense educational campaign aimed at both the public and the profession. As a result the maximum number of transplantable organs must be retrieved from every available donor. In order to achieve this maximum number, the following points deserve consideration: (a) assessment and selection of the donor lungs, (b) maintenance of selected donors, and (c) excision and preservation of the donor lung(s).