Royal Papworth Hospital 'Lungs in the Lung' could increase transplants

Surgeons hope that new machines that keep their lungs alive outside the body could “convert” the number of people undergoing implantation.

The breakthrough took place at Royal Pupworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire, after becoming the first in the UK to pilot the use of the XPS system.

The machine, called the “lungs in the lungs,” said it could mimic human body and surgeon Marius Berman, and increase the number of implants by 30%.

Daniel Evans Smith, a 49-year-old event manager from Northampton, said he was the first to receive a double lung transplant using the NHS system and was “very grateful.”

Approximately 81% of the lungs are denied for transplantation They are either inflamed or are in poor condition.

The machine improves organ health by using ventilators to inflate and deflate the lungs. Liquids containing nutrients and oxygen also pass through them.

This technique is called ex vivo pulmonary perfusion (EVLP). This means that donated lungs that are considered “borderlines” for use can be readjusted and used instead of discarded.

The organs are kept at body temperature for up to 6 hours.

The one-year pilot is funded by charities from NHS England and Royal Pupworth.

The machine was previously only used in UK research trials.

Professor Derek Manas of NHS Blood and Transplant Medical Director said the technology could “enable more transplants by improving organ function.”

in spite of Changes to the law regarding consent to organ donation In 2019, hospitals said that machines were making the most of donated lungs because of lack of donated lungs.

Professor Manas said more than 200 people are awaiting a lung transplant that “significantly” exceeds the number of appropriate donor organs.

Surgeons can also test organs because their lungs are “living” outside the body. This means that the transplant is more likely to be successful.

Evans Smith stopped smoking 12 years ago, but developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease that causes difficulty breathing.

He suffered five collapsed lungs and spent a total of six months in the hospital prior to the transplant.

He was about to leave the hospital when he woke up to the nurse who told him that the donor's lungs had been found.

The organs were placed on ice and transported to Cambridge, where they were placed on a machine to “recondition” before implantation.

Evans Smith said it was a “privilege to be chosen.”

He states: “We had a conversation last year, and some hospitals say they need to talk about palliative care.

He now wants to raise funds for the team that saved his life.

“I can do the hills now without thinking about it. There's no need to go outside and rest around town,” he said. “I can't thank them enough.”

Marius Berman, the surgical lead of implantation at Royal Papworth Hospital, said outside of clinical trials, “we are extremely proud to be the first British hospital to use the machine.”

Other techniques exist, but surgeons allow people to train quickly due to the simplicity of the machine, and in some alternatives, the surgical team must travel to donors.

He said 30% of people on the lung transplant list had died, and Evans Smith “had a very small window of opportunity.”

“Daniel wouldn't have been with us today without a lung transplant and we wouldn't have been able to do a lung transplant without EVLP,” he added.

Royal Papworth Hospital has performed more lung transplants than any other UK centre, completing 41 last year.