Establishing an economical and widely accessible DCD animal abattoir model for lung research using ex vivo lung perfusion

Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is a preservation method that allows simultaneous testing and treatment of the lungs. However, use of EVLP is costly and requires access to lab animals and accompanying facilities. To increase the use of EVLP for research, we developed a method to perform EVLP using abattoir procured lungs. Six pair of lungs were procured from abattoir sheep. The lungs were then flushed and stored in ice for 3 hours. A low flow (20% of cardiac output) approach, a tidal volume of 6ml/kg bodyweight and total perfusion time of 3 hours were chosen. Perfusion fluids and circuits were self-made. Mean pO2 remained stable from 60 minutes (49.3 ± 7.1kPa) to 180 minutes (51.5kPa ± 8.0), p = 0.66. Pulmonary artery pressure remained ≤ 15 mmHg and the left atrial pressure remained between 3-5 mmHg and peak respiratory pressures ≤ 20 cmH2 O. Lactate dehydrogenase increased from start (96.3 ± 56.4 u/L) to end of perfusion (315.8 ± 85.0 u/L), p < 0.05. No difference was observed in ATP between procurement and post-EVLP, 129.7 ± 37.4 μmol/g protein to 132.0 ± 23.4 μmol/g, p = 0.92. These findings indicate that abattoir acquired sheep lungs can be preserved on EVLP.