Cardiac and pulmonary donor procurement.

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Within the United States, donor heart and lung procurement varies between institutions and among surgeons within the same institution sometimes. The purpose of this article is to review the history of donor heart and lung procurement, the surgical techniques, and pitfalls. The current article covers the important intraoperative evaluation of the donor heart and lungs at the procurement hospital and the surgical pitfalls that can be prevented to ensure good procurement of donor heart and lungs. The current article provides a review of the history of donor procurement. The article will also provide recommendations for surgical techniques and to prevent possible complications of donor procurement at the time of surgery.