I posted this on my author facebook page (which you should follow if you aren't already - look up Allison Watson - Author page and there will be a smiling picture of me). I think it bears repeating because I find this article and the pilot project of allowing people to fly to Toronto when lungs are available so interesting.

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There is a new pilot project that Nova Scotia is trying where people waiting for lung transplants are able to wait in Halifax and fly to Toronto when lungs become available. It has been successful for one woman, profiled in this article. The risk of not getting a flight due to fog or not being allowed on the plane due to low lung function seems high to me - airlines are allowed to deny you a flight if you are too unhealthy - but clearly it can be worth it for people with a low, but stable, lung function.

Before you ask, it's unlikely Amy would ever be eligible for this program due to people with CF having a tendency to have their lung function dramatically crash. Unless she somehow has access to a private jet that she's never told me about.

The ex-vivo machine discussed in this article is an amazing technological breakthrough. My donor lungs, four years ago, were in the ex-vivo machine for a time. The machine is beneficial, not only for allowing lungs to survive longer outside of the body but also to be scrubbed of any infection before transplant. Last year the Toronto team successfully started transplanting lungs infected with Hep C which would have been unthinkable years ago. The more lungs that can be used for donation, the less chance there is of people dying while on the transplant list.

Link to the article:

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/the-breathing-machine?fbclid=IwAR1DXt2Xwrn3jZhDJodNtaDRaT0mqhjpCYfp392BzOoIogRL6hCia2lXvjU