Register an interest in this interventional procedure

NICE has been notified about this procedure and it is part of its work programme. The Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee (IPAC) will consider this procedure and NICE will issue an interventional procedures consultation document about its safety and efficacy for 4 weeks’ public consultation. IPAC will then review the consultation document in the light of comments received and produce a final interventional procedures document, which will be considered by NICE before guidance is issued to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
 
Status In progress
Process IP
ID number 1046
Description On average 20% of potential donor lungs in the UK are used for transplantation. The rest are considered unsuitable, usually because of complications associated with attempts to save the donor or injury which occurs in association with death. Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion is a technique that may allow donor lungs to be preserved for longer and in better condition, and may allow marginal donor lungs which are functioning poorly to be improved so that they can be used in lung transplantation. It therefore may allow more donor lungs to be used for transplantation. Ex-situ machine perfusion for extracorporeal preservation of lungs (ex-vivo lung perfusion) is performed once the lungs have been removed from the donor. After being transferred in cold solution the lungs are connected to a modified heart-lung bypass machine and a ventilator. A specialised nutrient solution is pumped through the lungs which are gradually warmed to body temperature. Ex Vivo perfusion usually lasts for a number of hours. During this period the lungs can be assessed and if necessary, treated to remove unwanted fluid, and to re-expand areas of lung that have collapsed. If they recover adequately the lungs can then be implanted in a recipient.

Provisional Schedule

Expected publication 26 May 2021

Timeline

Key events during the development of the guidance:

Date Update
15 January 2021 - 12 February 2021 Interventional procedure consultation

For further information on how we develop guidance, please see our page about NICE interventional procedures guidance