Influence of Donor Type—Donation After Brain Death Versus Donation After Circulatory Death—on Lung Transplant Outcomes

Abstract

We sought to analyze the influence of lung donor type (brain death [BD] vs controlled donation after cardiac death [DCD]) on lung graft viability and to compare short-term outcomes of lung transplantation using grafts from BD and DCD donors. This was a retrospective study of the lung donor population and lung transplants performed at our Institution between January 2020 and December 2022. Demographic characteristics of the donors and donation type (BD vs DCD) were assessed. Lung graft viability rate and post-transplant outcomes were analyzed and compared between donor types. There were 203 donors; among them, 149 (73%) were viable. There were 176 BD donors (87%) and 27 DCD donors (13%), with viability rates of 75% and 59%, respectively, performing 81 single (40%) and 122 double-lung transplants (60%). Recipient PaO2/fraction of inspired oxygen and primary graft dysfunction at 24 and 72 hours did not differ between donor types. Thirty-day mortality did not differ between recipients from BD donors and recipients from DCD donors: n=28 (21%) vs n=3 (18%), respectively (P=.81). Donation after cardiac death donors is a safe source to increase the donor pool for lung transplantation, allowing similar short-term outcomes as lung transplants from BD donors regarding graft function and early survival.