Results: New organ transplant tech extends organ life outside human body

The Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Program is centred around a new machine at Vancouver General Hospital that is paving the way for surgeons to provide better, stronger donor lungs with faster access to life-saving transplants. The lung perfusion system allows lungs to live outside the body for up to 12 hours after retrieval. A set of lungs that might otherwise be rejected for transplant can be reassessed, even repaired and reconditioned in a bubble-like machine using bloodless oxygenated liquid and a ventilator to force air in and out of the lungs. 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.