In lung transplantation, are pulmonary grafts from donors deceased from hanging as suitable as grafts from donors deceased from other causes?

A best evidence topic was constructed according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether pulmonary grafts from donors deceased from hanging offer the same benefit as grafts from donors deceased from other causes in lung transplantation. Of the 17 papers found, 4 provided the best evidence to answer the question. The authors, date, journal, country of publication, study type, group studied, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. One study reported a large cohort of donors and analysed the outcomes by cause of death, reporting no differences in survival. The remaining 3 papers analysed observational studies on the outcomes of lung transplantation using pulmonary grafts from donors deceased from hanging, compared with donors deceased from other causes. No differences in the rates of post-transplantation pulmonary graft dysfunction and long-term overall survival were reported. Although the cohort of donors deceased from hanging is small, we conclude that these donors are an important contribution to the donor pool. Ex vivo lung perfusion may have a role in assessing graft viability in this scenario.