Functional repair of human donor lungs by IL-10 gene therapy.

More than 80% of potential donor lungs are injured during brain death of the donor and from complications experienced in the intensive care unit, and therefore cannot be used for transplantation. These lungs show inflammation and disruption of the alveolar-capillary barrier, leading to poor gas exchange. Although the number of patients in need of lung transplantation is increasing, the number of donors is static.