Lung transplantation from donation after brain death (DBD) donors on extra-corporeal support : A case series from the ESTS Lung Transplantation Working Group

In recent years, the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support is increasing in critically ill patients. Lung recovery from donors on ECMO may counteract the donor pool shortage. However, this kind of donor remains a major challenge when assessing organ donor quality, namely the lung; also, in this setting pulmonary grafts could suffer from flow diversion. There is very little evidence in literature about outcomes in case of donors supported by ECMO. Aim of this study was to analyse data on procurement, transplantation and outcomes in lung recipients from donors after neurological determination of death (DBD) on ECMO.