Organ transplants are a miracle of modern technology and have been performed to save the lives of millions of people.
Unfortunately, the number of organ donors is not nearly sufficient to meet the demand. Research is constantly being done on things like artificial organs or even using the organs of animals to help people who need them to survive.
In addition to those areas of research, doctors are always looking for ways to increase the number of usable organs that are donated each year. One of these methods, which has been used in the US and many European countries for some time now, has finally made its way to the UK as well.
Known as Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP), this technique is used to help preserve donated lungs and to ensure they are in the best possible condition when they are transplanted into the recipient. This method can even take lungs that were classified as marginally acceptable or unacceptable and recondition them while they are outside of a human body so that they will work better once transplanted.
49-year-old Daniel Evans-Smith recently underwent this type of procedure in Cambridge, UK, marking the first time it was successfully completed in the country outside of clinical trials. Evans-Smith released a statement after the procedure, saying:
“I feel very privileged to have been offered the opportunity to be in this situation. Last year it was discussed that I may soon need palliative care. Without having a lung transplant soon, the likelihood was that I wouldn’t survive much longer.”
The life-saving treatment starts when the lungs are removed from the donor and placed on ice and transported to the recipient’s hospital. From there, they are attached to a machine that ventilates the organs and perfuses them. This helps to mimic the environment that they would be in naturally.
The lungs are even inflated and deflated while inside the machine, which may look a little weird, but it helps the lungs remain viable much longer than would otherwise be possible.
A special fluid is used to maintain the quality of the lungs and even restore their function. While in this machine, the lungs can be maintained and tested for up to four hours.
This allows doctors to fully evaluate the lungs and perform any short-term therapeutics needed to optimize their quality before the operation begins. After this time, they are placed back on ice in preparation for the actual transplant surgery.
Evans-Smith was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which made it difficult for him to breathe. From late 2023 to early 2024, this caused him to experience five separate collapsed lungs, which can be very dangerous.
After being put on the transplant list in the summer, he was quickly notified that donor lungs were identified and he could take part in this historic surgery.
Needless to say, he took the opportunity.
After the successful surgery and recovery, he immediately began seeing positive results, saying:
“The transplant has made a huge difference already. I haven’t had a cold, chest infection or symptoms that I had been suffering with in previous years so far, which will be down to the quality of the lungs. I can already walk further than before, climb hills without thinking about it and I don’t have to rest so often.”
This type of success will undoubtedly mean more of these procedures will take place in the UK in the future, which could save many lives.
What an incredible advancement.
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