Mayo Clinic Reports its First Lung Transplantation by Donation After Cardiac Death

By Kelley Luckstein

Lung transplantation is a well-known therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease, but, as with other patients waiting for organs for transplantation, there are more recipients waiting than donors available. A potential solution for patients with end-stage lung disease is donation after cardiac death (DCD).

Mayo Clinic reports its — and Minnesota’s — first lung transplantation from DCD in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings…While brain death has become the most widely used criteria for organ donation over the past few decades, the earliest organ donations were from deceased donors following cardiac death, says Stephen Cassivi, M.D., Mayo Clinic thoracic surgeon and lead study author.