Successful lung transplant from donor after cardiac death: a potential solution to shortage of thoracic organs.

Lung transplant is an effective treatment for patients with end-stage lung disease but is limited because of the shortage of acceptable donor organs. Organ donation after cardiac death is one possible solution to the organ shortage because it could expand the pool of potential donors beyond brain-dead and living donors. We report the preliminary experience of Mayo Clinic with donation after cardiac death, lung procurement, and transplant.