Aggressive pursuit and utilization of non-ideal donor lungs does not compromise post-lung transplant survival.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Organ procurement organizations (OPOs) vary in willingness to pursue and utilize non-ideal donor lungs; implications of these practices for lung transplant (LTx) recipients remain unclear. We examined associations between OPO-level behavior toward non-ideal donors and post-LTx outcomes. METHODS: Adult lung donors and corresponding adult first-time LTx recipients in the 2008-2019 UNOS registry were included. Non-ideal donors had any of age > 50, smoking history ≥20 pack-years, PaO2 /FiO2 ratio ≤350, donation after circulatory death, or increased risk status. OPOs were classified as least, moderately, or most aggressive based on non-ideal donor pursuit, consent attainment, lung recovery, and transplantation. Post-transplant outcomes were compared among aggressiveness strata. RESULTS: Of 22,795 recipients, 6229 (27.3%), 8256 (36.2%), and 8310 (36.5%) received lungs from least, moderately, and most aggressive OPOs, respectively. Moderately aggressive OPOs had the highest recipient rates of pre-discharge acute rejection, grade 3 primary graft dysfunction, postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and longest lengths of stay. After adjustment, moderately and most aggressive OPOs had similar risks of recipient mortality as least aggressive OPOs. CONCLUSIONS: The most and least aggressive OPOs achieve similar patient survival and short-term post-LTx outcomes. Aggressive pursuit and utilization of non-ideal donor lungs by less aggressive OPOs would likely expand the donor pool, without compromising recipient outcomes.