Cleveland Clinic Researchers Develop New Model for Prioritizing Lung Transplant Candidates

CLEVELAND: A team from Cleveland Clinic has developed a new model for prioritizing patients waiting for a lung transplant, aimed at improving outcomes and reducing deaths among those in need of donor lungs. The new method offers an improved strategy for organ allocation by taking into account how the time a patient has spent on the waiting list could impact the severity of their disease and the urgency of their need for a transplant.
The results of a study looking at this new method were published today in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“Lungs in a Box” Now Offered at Northwestern Medicine

Due to COVID-19 and a rapidly expanding list of conditions for which lung transplantation can be lifesaving, the need for new organs is growing. However, there’s a global shortage of donated lungs, which results in numerous deaths among patients on the waitlist. To help expand the donor pool, Northwestern Medicine is now using a device from XVIVO called XPS™ which is used for ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) – nicknamed “lungs in a box” – to rescue potentially viable lungs and those initially deemed “unacceptable” for transplant. Out of all solid organs, lungs have the lowest utilization, with only one in five donated lungs getting transplanted.

16-Year-Old with Cystic Fibrosis Receives Double Lung Transplant, a First for Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone

Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone and the NYU Langone Transplant Institute reached a historic, first-ever milestone when surgeons replaced the lungs of a 16-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis.

Second Breath: Region’s First Double Lung Transplant for COVID-19 Patient

After more than 50 days on advanced life support, a multi-disciplinary team at UC San Diego Health helps a patient who contracted COVID-19 become a candidate for a successful double lung transplant. The transplant surgery was the first in the region performed on a COVID-19 patient.

Lung, Heart, Kidney and Liver Transplant Programs Rank among Nation’s Best

UC San Diego Health’s lung, heart, kidney and liver transplant programs rank at the top nationally in the latest biannual Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) report. Innovative treatment and multi-disciplinary care contribute to the high rankings for one-year survival outcomes.

Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.

Story Tips from Johns Hopkins Experts on COVID-19

As COVID-19 continues to impact the world, health care professionals are finding more patients who were diagnosed with the illness but still are dealing with symptoms long after the initial infection has gone. This condition is sometimes referred to as “long COVID.”

Lung Transplant Performed on a COVID-19 Patient at Northwestern Medicine

For the first time, surgeons at Northwestern Medicine performed a double-lung transplant on a patient whose lungs were damaged by COVID-19. The patient, a Hispanic woman in her 20s, spent six weeks in the COVID ICU on a ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine that does the work of the heart and lungs.