Today, lungs from donors who died as a result of asphyxia are generally considered unsuitable for transplantation..

But the authors of the new study argue that such lungs can be successfully used to save lives..

A research team from the Wexner Medical Center and Ohio State University (USA) reported this in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery..

Dr. Bryan Whitson, lead researcher, says there are 35 million people with lung disease in the US.

Among these pathologies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and others are in the first place..

There are also rare fatal diseases, such as primary pulmonary hypertension, in which only transplantation can save the patient..

At the same time, America is experiencing an acute shortage of donor organs.. There are currently 1,684 people waiting for lung transplants in the US, but only 910 are expected this year, according to the Unified Organ Distribution Network (UNOS).. It is obvious that many of these one and a half thousand patients may not live to see their operation..

To solve the problem of shortage of donor organs, researchers are turning their attention to organs that, under normal conditions, are considered unsuitable for transplantation due to their possible damage.. For example, Medical News Today recently reported that scientists have proven the safety of lung transplants in smokers..

The pool of donor organs can be significantly expanded.

In their latest study, scientists used data from the UNOS Standard Transplant Analysis and Research Registry for 1987-2010.. They found 309 patients who received lungs from donors who died as a result of asphyxia or drowning.. The outcomes of these 309 operations were compared with transplants from donors whose lungs were in no doubt. To do this, Dr. Whitson and his colleagues selected 18,250 adult lung transplant cases..

The researchers found that survival rates were similar between the two groups, as was the risk of organ rejection, dialysis, and stroke after transplantation..

The team notes that there was a slight increase in length of hospital stay when transplanting organs from such donors.. This was the only difference in outcomes found between the two groups.. According to Dr.

Whitson, these data suggest that the cause of death of the donor should not automatically lead to the rejection of the use of organs..

These organs may be quite suitable for transplantation..

“Of course, organs must necessarily meet recognized quality criteria, but this can significantly expand the pool of donor organs.. Organ transplantation centers should carefully consider each case, assessing the risk and benefit for the recipient. Our results indicated that centers should broaden their criteria,” the researchers concluded..

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