But the new method, which uses a process called ex-vivo lung perfusion (EVLP), could help keep lungs outside the human body for over 12 hours without significantly harming their eventual recipient's chances of survival. If the lungs are simply cooled, standard practice calls for the transplant to happen within six to eight hours of being outside the donor's body. But with EVLP, which takes at least four hours, the deadline can be pushed out to over 12 hours. The study focused on 906 adults who got lung transplants at Toronto General from 2006-2015, comparing those whose organs did and did not undergo EVLP. While the researchers said the results suggest EVLP provides "additional benefit" over just icing down the organs, the "maximum safe preservation time for human lung transplantation remains unknown."

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 18, 2016 00:18 UTC