Surgeons use artificial system to keep patient alive for 48 hours before lung transplant

Surgeons successfully kept a patient alive for 48 hours without lungs using a custom artificial system, enabling a life-saving transplant. The innovative system bypassed the removed lungs, oxygenating blood and regulating pressure, buying crucial time for infection clearance and donor organ arrival. This unprecedented procedure, detailed in the journal Med, offers biological proof that some severe ARDS patients require transplants for survival, not just supportive care.