Doctors keep patient alive using ‘artificial lungs’ for two days

image via New Scientist

January 29, 2026, 7:45 PM

• •A 33-year-old patient was on the verge of death due to a severe infection and organ failure.
• •Artificial lungs were created to oxygenate blood and bridge the gap until a transplant was possible.
• •The system kept the patient alive for two days, allowing him to recover and receive a double-lung transplant.
• •The novel approach is described in a paper published in the journal Med, and the method is available for replication.

Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital developed "artificial lungs" to keep a critically ill patient alive for two days while he awaited a double-lung transplant. The patient, suffering from a severe infection and organ failure, was too sick for the transplant until the novel system was implemented. The artificial lungs successfully oxygenated the patient's blood, allowing him to recover enough to receive a life-saving transplant and eventually be discharged from the hospital. This innovative approach offers a potential "nuclear option" for saving critically ill patients in the future.

Read original article