Belgian transplant surgeons use lungs from euthanased patients

BioEdge: Belgian transplant surgeons use lungs from euthanased patients: A press release from a team at a hospital in Leuven announced yesterday that it had successfully transplanted lungs from four euthanased patients between 2007 and 2009. In an article in the journal Applied Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology, the authors observe that the quality of the lungs from euthanased patients seems superior to those obtained from brain dead donors and donations after cardiac death.

“In contrast to these donors, euthanasia donors do not experience an agonal phase before circulatory arrest as seen in donors dying from hypoxemia or from cardiogenic or hypovolemic shock.” Apparently a number of patients who request euthanasia want to donate their organs. However, since many of them have cancer, the organs are not suitable.

Related: Organs harvested from euthanized patients make better transplants