Extra Lung

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Ex vivo transplant platforms for the research of lung injury

• IRAS ID

  128103

• Contact name

  Anna Reed

• Contact email

  a.reed@rbht.nhs.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  The Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust

• Research summary

  Background:
  Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life threatening condition, but the results of 40 years of research into the field of ALI have been disappointing. Conducting research in patients with lung injury is difficult, because they are all by definition critically ill. Research into animal models of acute lung injury is useful, but so far no treatment for acute lung injury in animals has translated into human use.

  EVLP:
  The use of human lungs that have been removed from the body (ex vivo) can provide us with a valuable platform for research into ALI. We can sustain human lungs that have been removed from the body using a customised life-support circuit called EVLP (ex vivo lung perfusion). EVLP will pump blood and/or preservatives pumped through the vessels of the ex vivo lungs. A ventilator will continue to breathe oxygen into the lungs.
  EVLP is clinically used in transplantation to recondition and assess donated lungs before implanting them into the recipient. However, if it is deemed that the lungs are not suitable for transplantation after this period of assessment, the organs are discarded.

  Aims:
  To sustain lungs that have been discarded from the transplant programme on EVLP
  To use EVLP lungs as a platform for research into ALI
  To measure aspects of metabolism of ex vivo human lungs in response to induced ALI
  To explore therapeutic interventions in ex vivo lungs that could be clinically used to treat ALI

  Methodology:
  1) Sustain discarded human lungs on EVLP
  2) Experimentally inflict injury
  3) Measure the biological responses

  This study will provide a unique insight of the human lung’s response to acute lung injury.

  As a secondary objective, this process of sustaining rejected injured lungs on EVLP may also provide insights into the assessment and reconditioning of lungs for transplantation

• REC name

  London - Brent Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/0326

• Date of REC Opinion

  28 Feb 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion