Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Consensus - European and American Perspectives

Pedro Catarino, MD, Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles, CA USA

Pedro Catarino, MD is a cardiac surgeon at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he is the Director of Aortic Surgery and also has a particular responsibility to develop the lung transplant program.

He is qualified from Oxford University Medical School in England and trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. He also undertook a transplant fellowship at Duke in North Carolina. He was Director of Transplantation & MCS at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England, where he worked for 12 years before moving to Cedars in 2020.

His main interests are in DCD heart transplantation, minimally invasive lung transplantation and in the Frozen Elephant Trunk procedure in aortic surgery. He has a research lab which has developed portable normothermic perfusion platforms for donor hearts and lungs.

Marius Berman, MD, FRCS (CTh), Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Consultant Cardiothoracic and Transplant Surgeon, Surgical Director Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support Department, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK. Associate UK Clinical Lead for Organ Retrieval and Chair, Retrieval Advisory Group, NHS Blood and Transplant, UK. Equally passionate about transplantation and organ retrieval, with particular interest in innovation and organ perfusion technologies, in or ex-situ. Research and publication interest are focusing on organ quality and increased utilization for transplantation, and team approach to challenges in organ retrieval.

Matthew Bacchetta, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN USA

Matthew Bacchetta, MD is a lung transplant surgeon and NIH funded researcher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center whose clinical work focuses on end stage lung and pulmonary vascular diseases. He has one of the world’s largest experiences in the use of mechanical devices for patients with both acute and chronic respiratory illness. His research involves developing platforms for organ recovery, regeneration and replacement. He is a Fellow of AIMBE. Prior to moving to Vanderbilt, he was an Associate Professor at Columbia University and worked as the Director of Adult ECMO and Surgical Director of Pulmonary Hypertension Comprehensive Care Center, and Director of the Pulmonary. Thromboendarterectomy Program. He has served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the US Army.

Kenneth McCurry, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH USA

Kenneth McCurry, MD is a cardiothoracic surgeon and Director of the Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. McCurry is also Director of the Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Program, Surgical Director of the Respiratory ECMO Program and occupies The Jack B. Lally Endowed Chair in Thoracic Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. McCurry's clinical practice is in cardiac surgery and lung and heart-lung transplantation. He is actively engaged in research and innovation and leads a team of investigators focused on lung transplant outcomes as well as translational and basic research in lung transplantation and lung injury.

• Why are there divergent views on lung selection and perfusion techniques?
• What gaps exist and how do they affect clinical practice and outcomes?
• Are there any emerging trends or shifts in perspectives?