Warming up to lung transplants

Because of structural and inflammatory damage incurred by lungs before and during death, only about 20% of lungs from organ donors are actually useable for transplant.¹ A group at the University of Toronto thinks it could potentially triple this figure by treating the organ ex vivo with a gene therapy that introduces an anti-inflammatory cytokine-IL-10.

The team has proof of concept in injured human donor lungs showing that the technique repaired existing damage and improved function.²...