In the latest edition of The Path Forward with Cystic Fibrosis, Dr. Frank D’Ovidio – the Surgical Director of the Lung Transplant Program and Director of the Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Program at CUMC – explains exactly what the Ex Vivo program is and what its end goals are.

Because so many donor lungs are damaged at the time of death, only 20-30% of donated lungs are usable for transplantation. The ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a process of evaluating and preparing donor lungs outside the body prior to transplant surgery. In EVLP, the lungs are warmed to normal body temperature, flushed of donor blood, inflammatory cells and potentially harmful biologic factors, and treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents.

Eventually, as this process is perfected, it could expand the available donor pool by restoring and repairing donor lungs that have sustained damage and eventually create a sort of ‘ICU for organs.’

This video podcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Columbia University Medial Center and the Lung Transplant Project.