We present the case of a 41-year-old female who underwent bilateral lung transplantation after the donor lungs were placed on a normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion and ventilation device and flown nearly 5000 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii to Durham, North Carolina. The patient experienced no primary graft dysfunction. One year after transplantation she has remained rejection-free and exhibits excellent pulmonary function. This case highlights the challenge that active organ preservation systems pose to questions of organ allocation and geographic sharing.
Keywords: clinical research/practice; ethics and public policy; lung (allograft) function/dysfunction; lung transplantation/pulmonology; organ allocation; organ procurement and allocation.
© 2021 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.