Overview
- NICE issued draft guidance on Monday recommending a four‑year NHS evidence‑generation programme to introduce ex‑vivo lung perfusion and collect data on clinical outcomes and costs.
- The machine warms donated lungs to body temperature, pumps a plasma‑like fluid through them and ventilates them so teams can treat infection, drain fluid, reinflate collapsed areas and monitor function for up to about six hours.
- NHS Blood and Transplant data show only 23% of suitable donated lungs are currently used and about 170 people, including six children, are on the waiting list, with high pre‑transplant mortality in 2020–22.
- Modelling and the NHS spending watchdog suggest the technology could salvage as many as four in five currently unused lungs, but analysts say initial estimates imply high costs per quality‑adjusted life year that require the planned data collection.
- Next steps include a public consultation and a final NICE decision, a staged NHS rollout with training and centre capacity needs, and monitoring of whether the machines truly raise transplant rates and deliver value for money.