In a latest breakthrough, scientists have successfully converted donated lungs into ‘universal’ transplant organs in a proof-of-concept experiment. This suggests that the converted lungs could be transplanted into any recipient, irrespective of their blood type, as long as the organs were the appropriate size.

 

Universal Lungs in EVLP

The study was published on 16 Feb 2022 in the journal ‘Science Translational Medicine’. In the new study, a team of researchers ran experiments on the universal lungs in an ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) device that keeps lungs alive outside the body. According to Dr. Marcelo Cypel, the surgical director of the Ajmera Transplant Centre, a professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and senior author of the study, the study authors plan to test such organs in a clinical trial with human recipients in the upcoming years.

According to Dr. Richard N. Pierson III, a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and the scientific director of the Center for Transplantation Science at Massachusetts General Hospital, the technology of universal lungs could help reduce the number of donated lungs that must be discarded because there's no size-matched and blood-type compatible recipient nearby. He further added that organ size and blood type are the primary factors used to match organ donors and recipients.

 

Addressing Shortage of O Lungs

Additionally, Dr. Richardson added that the universal lungs technology would help address the current shortage of O lungs, for O patients the waiting time is the longest and the shortage most severe.  Patients with blood type O have a 20% greater risk of dying while waiting for a lung transplant than those with other blood types; they have to wait longer because they cannot accept organs from donors of any other blood type, according to a 2019 report in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

In a statement, Cypel added, “If we could take this barrier out of the allocation system, I think this will … decrease the wait time for patients and also mortality on the waitlist.” Currently, Cypel and his colleagues have begun preparing a proposal for a clinical trial of the enzyme-treated lungs. In human patients, the team will be able to address questions that cannot be answered by their lab study.

For more updates on healthcare industry, click here