- A new machine designed to keep donated lungs alive outside the body is set for use on the NHS, offering hope to the approximately 170 people, including six children, awaiting a new lung in the UK.
- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has issued draft guidance recommending the machine's use for four years to gather evidence on its benefits and cost-effectiveness.
- Currently, only 23 per cent of donated lungs that meet suitability criteria are used for transplants, but the new technology could potentially rescue four in five of those currently discarded.
- The machine functions by warming donated lungs to body temperature, pumping a fluid mimicking blood plasma through them, and ventilating them to simulate normal breathing, allowing for treatment and monitoring.
- This initiative aims to significantly improve the availability of organs for patients facing long and uncertain waits for lung transplants, many of whom currently die before a suitable organ becomes available.
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