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Tampa General improving lung transplants
Doctors at Tampa General Hospital are keeping hope alive for lung transplant patients. They have a new way of testing a donor's lungs before they reach the recipients body. FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Doctors at Tampa General Hospital are utilizing a device called the XVIVO Lung Perfusion Machine to evaluate donor lungs prior to transplant surgery.
Organ donor lung testing
Big picture view:
Doctors at TGH have performed three lung transplants using the XVIVO machine, which serves as a way station between the donor and recipient. The device tests 10 different aspects of lung performance, such as blood oxygenation, material solidity, and how well the tissue expands and contracts by injecting blood and oxygen.
Rare donor lung viability
By the numbers:
Only 20% of donor lungs are suitable for transplant surgery, leaving many patients to die on waiting lists, according to Dr. Kamal Ayyat, the head of TGH's X-Vivo Program. The hospital has completed 62 lung transplants this year, breaking its previous record of 58 set in 2010.
Protecting transplant patient outcomes
What they're saying:
"We are removing all the risks. Because if we took lungs, we are not sure about the Balmori function or the graft function. [If] you put it on the recipient, you're not sure of the outcomes," said Ayyat. "And then you're having this risk with your recipient, which should not happen as well. We are honoring this gift, but we should not take risk on the recipient side. So that's what we're doing. We are rehearsing for the transplant, but without any risk to the recipient."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Dr. Kamal Ayyat, head of TGH's X-Vivo Program, as well as transplant performance metrics provided by Tampa General Hospital.