French doctors have succeeded in increasing lung transplants by rehabilitating grafts that do not have the qualities required to be transplanted.
Protected under a sterile bell, the lungs artificially inhale and exhale air. For 4 hours, the organ removed from a deceased donor is bathed in a nutritive liquid to be “cleaned”. At the Foch hospital in Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine), this ex-vivo “rehabilitation” technique for lung grafts was implemented in 2011 as part of a clinical trial.
The objective of this technique is simple: to be able to transplant grafts judged to be of good quality. Usually, the lungs are collected from people under 56 years of age who have never smoked and have optimal lung function.
But the shortage of organs is pushing to broaden the eligibility criteria. With ex-vivo rehabilitation, transplant teams can perform lung transplants from donors who have smoked and / or aged 56 to 70 years.
A reliable and reproducible technique
Between 2011 and 2013, Foch’s team rehabilitated 32 grafts. Only one did not regain satisfactory lung function to be transplanted. And the results obtained with these organs are completely comparable to conventional transplants.
This reliable and reproducible technique has made it possible to significantly increase the number of grafts that can be used, and it contributes to reducing the waiting time. Since then, this pilot project has been initiated at the Marie Lannelongue hospital (Le Plessis-Robinson, Hauts-de-Seine), the Bichat hospital (Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris), the CHU of Grenoble and that of Strasbourg, indicates the Biomedicine Agency.
Considerable hope for patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, underlines Vaincre la cysticfiscidose, which has been actively involved in this project since 2010. “Lung transplantation is the only therapeutic solution to prolong the life of patients with cystic fibrosis whose respiratory condition is irreparably damaged. degraded ”, recalls the association.
Cystic fibrosis, the first indication for a transplant
Thanks to medical developments in recent decades, patients live much longer and the vast majority reach adulthood. A breakthrough that should continue with the marketing of innovative molecules and the launch of promising clinical trials.
But for the time being, end-stage chronic respiratory failure remains the leading cause of death in cystic fibrosis. This is also the reason why the disease is the first indication for lung transplantation: out of 337 transplants performed in 2014, 85 patients received it, i.e. more than 30% of lung transplants.
In France, more than 7,000 people suffer from cystic fibrosis, and every 2 days, a child born with this pathology.
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