OPTN DCD Lung Transplant Collaborative concludes with Learning Congress
Published on: Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Participants from a nationwide Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Collaborative Improvement project recently gathered for a Learning Congress. The one-and-a-half day Congress concluded an eight-month initiative supporting efforts to increase the transplantation of donation after circulatory death (DCD) lungs.
More than 45 percent of the U.S. adult lung transplant programs—29 in total—participated in the OPTN DCD Lung Transplant Collaborative, which focused on identifying and sharing effective practices related to the recovery and transplantation of DCD lungs. The OPTN initiative used a collaborative improvement approach, which provided a focused framework to help participating lung transplant programs develop goals, track progress and share key learnings. The primary aim of the Collaborative was to increase the number of DCD lung transplants by 30 percent over the previous eight-month period.
In the spirit of collaboration, the Learning Congress brought together both representatives from programs that participated in the Collaborative as well non-participating programs. Representatives from Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO) were also in attendance and played a key role in the on-site discussions.
Learning from each other: Results and key points
Preliminary results shared during the Learning Congress indicate that the OPTN Collaborative exceeded its goal, achieving an approximately 45 percent increase in the number of DCD lung transplants performed during the Collaborative, when compared to the preceding eight-month period.
The Learning Congress provided an opportunity for transplant and donation professionals to share effective practices, discuss challenges, and provide insights into improvement work on this topic. Panels and breakout sessions explored strategies for increasing DCD lung transplants and approaches to enhancing communication between transplant programs and OPOs. Clinical practices in this area and tools to drive improvement were also among the discussions.
Learning Congress recorded sessions are available in the OPTN DCD Lung Transplant Collaborative Learning Congress playlist in the OPTN Learning Management System (known as UNOS Connect).