How A Human Donor Lung Is Kept Alive Before A Transplant

This is the OCS or Organ Care System - or as it's more affectionately called the "lung in a box".

The OCS is how donor lungs are kept alive and fresh while they await transplanting into the body of a needy individual.

Blood and oxygen are pumped into the organ to simulate what would be happening inside the body.

But the OCS goes beyond just keeping a lung functioning - it can also pump antibiotics and nutrients into the organ to actually improve its condition and therefore the chances of it being accepted by the new host.

Click here for the full Al Jazeera America report on the OCS in which you can read all about Victoria, a grandmother awaiting a lung transplant.