Healthy Living: Preserving Lungs Outside The Body

Almost 114,000 people are on the waiting list for organ donation.

On average, 20 people die every day waiting for organs to become available.

Now, new FDA approved technology at Baylor College of Medicine called ‘Breathing Lungs’ is saving lives.

The TransMedics organ care system keeps lungs warm by circulating blood through them, while they are transported from organ donor to recipient.

Courtney Hunter explains in Healthy Living.

Dr. Loor says that in a landmark clinical trial comparing ice to the device, it showed nearly a third of patients whose donor organs were iced down had issues, whereas those who had the breathing lung transplant experienced far more successful outcomes.