Gas exchange function one month after transplantation of lungs topically cooled for 2 hours in the non-heart-beating cadaver after failed resuscitation

Background: If lungs from subjects dying of heart attacks could be used for transplantation, the lung donor shortage could be radically reduced. The a im of this study was to investigate, in an experimental survival model, the results of lung transplantation using lungs from non-heart-beating donors. Methods: The left lung, topically cooled to 25 degrees C for 2 hours in sit u after 5 minutes of circulatory arrest and 26 minutes of unsuccessful card iopulmonary resuscitation, was transplanted into a syngeneic rat. Five week s after the transplantation, right pneumonectomy was performed and blood ga ses measured every 10 minutes for 1 hour. Comparison were made with two con trol groups, one where fresh donor lungs were transplanted and another wher e only right pneumonectomy was done. Results: All animals survived and were in good condition at the end of the observation period. There was no statistically significant difference in ar terial oxygen or carbon dioxide tension between the groups. The bronchial a nastomoses showed normal healing in all cases. Conclusion: Lungs from non-heart-beating donors topically cooled in situ to 25 degrees C for 2 hours before being harvested showed excellent gas excha nge and bronchial healing 5 weeks after transplantation.