The Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Process

The EVLP Process in short with XPS™

  1. At the donor site the donor lungs are flushed thoroughly and preserved with PERFADEX® Plus – the gold standard in lung preservation specifically formulated to preserve the function and integrity of the organ. PERFADEX® Plus is not approved on all markets (for more information please get in touch with XVIVO).
  2. The lungs are transported following clinically proven routine practice in a cooler from the procurement site.
  3. At the recipient site the donor lungs are cannulated, flushed thoroughly with PERFADEX® Plus and connected to the XPS™ machine.
  4. After progressive warming according to a detailed protocol, the EVLP team set preferred protective ventilation and perfusion strategies depending on the requirements of each donor lung.
  5. Integrated in-line perfusate gas monitors (PGM) enables for real-time trending of pH and pO2 during the entire EVLP procedure.
  6. The XPS™ also enables precise continuous monitoring of EVLP performance metrics, all pre-set by the EVLP team.
  7. The XPS™ is specifically designed to permit X-ray and CT-scanning during the normothermic EVLP procedure. If a mobile unit is not available, XPS™ may be transported within the hospital since it has a built-in battery that could support up to 20 min. This permits for simultaneous X-ray without interrupting the EVLP process.

Contributing mechanisms

EVLP with STEEN Solution™ will help expand the pool of available organs by allowing assessment of lungs under optimized conditions. Several mechanisms contribute to this:

  1. The warming and reperfusion period allows time for the lung to re-establish a near-physiological environment. The ex vivo perfusion is carefully controlled using a lung-protective strategy.
  2. Remaining donor blood still in the lungs (containing coagulation factors, complement, activated lecucytes, inflammatory cytokines and non-physiological substances, including drugs used during donor management) is diluted and removed during the EVLP. This washing out benefit is not achieved with current hypothermic perfusion as the cold temperature induces vascular constriction within the lung, preventing complete flushing.
  3. It facilitates removal of clots in the pulmonary circulation through the use of transient retrograde perfusion at the beginning of the procedure.
  4. The ex vivo system facilitates any necessarry recruitment of atelectatic lungs, although any such procedure must be done with great care preventing over-expansion of lung.
  5. It allows time to assess and clean/suctioning bronchial secretions.
  6. The dextran in the perfusate solution facilitates perfusion of the pulmonary micro-vasculature by reducing interaction of activated leukocytes with the vessel wall.
Read about the Clinical data

  • EVLP with XPS™

    • XPS Disposable Lung Kit™ including all components needed for one EVLP procedure • Gas mix

    Read more

  • EVLP with XVIVO LS™

    • XVIVO LS Disposable Lung Set™ including all components needed for one EVLP procedure • Gas mix • STEEN Solution™

  • EVLP with manual method

    • Hardware/Software • STEEN Solution™ • Disposables • Tubing • Gas mix

    Read more