Study: Many Lungs Rejected for Transplant Could Be Used to Save Lives

Many lungs rejected for transplant may actually be suitable for use and could be used to save up to 1,000 lives each year, according to University of California San Francisco researchers.

Dr. Michael A. Matthay, reporting in the Lancet, said researchers found that 41 percent of 29 pairs of lungs rejected by the California Transplant Donor Network would have been "potentially suitable" for transplantation.

"This adds further emphasis for the need to re-evaluate transplant criteria," said Dr. Matthay, noting that more than 85 percent of lungs offered for donation are rejected.

A 1999 Australian study found little difference in the survival rates between patients receiving "ideal" lungs and those receiving "marginal" lungs.

"Partly by default, surgeons and transplant physicians have gone along with the idea that, if the x-ray shows a mild abnormality, or if the patient was a little older -- say 58 to 61 -- or was a moderate smoker, that patient's lungs should not be used," Dr. Matthay said. "The criteria of the past might be too strict, so it's probably time to re-evaluate them."

Other sources: The Lancet