A Lung-Saving Innovation

Imagine how the air pressure shift that makes your ears pop in an airplane affects a donor lung. To avoid the lung becoming injured, traveling donor lungs can be placed in the Baroguard donor lung preservation system, which provides a pressure- and temperature-controlled environment to avoid post-transplant complications, says Lisa Anderson, CEO of Paragonix Technologies. In the Baroguard, which was FDA cleared in August 2023, a pump keeps lungs inflated, while a connected app allows for continual monitoring. Baroguard-transported lungs have been stored in cases up to 18 hours, compared with the typical 8 hours in traditional ice storage, so lungs can travel farther and be flown on commercial flights instead of requiring private charters. Paragonix transports around 45% of donor lungs in the U.S., and reports a 38% reduction in primary graft dysfunction—a major dysfunction within 72 hours after lung transplant—compared to traditional storage.