The role of ex vivo lung perfusion in lung transplantation

Abstract

Whilst lung transplantation is a viable solution for end-stage lung disease, donor shortages, donor lung inflammation and perioperative lung injury remain major limitations. Ex vivo lung perfusion has emerged as the next frontier in lung transplantation to address and overcome these limitations, with multicentre clinical trials ongoing in the UK, rest of Europe and North America. Our research seeks to identify the poorly understood cellular and molecular mechanisms of primary graft dysfunction through the development of an isolated perfused lung model of transplantation and investigation of the role of pulmonary inflammation in this paradigm.