Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), a novel coronavirus responsible for a worldwide pandemic has forced drastic changes in medical practice in an alarmingly short period of time. Caregivers must modify their strategies as well as optimize the utilization of resources to ensure public and patient safety. For organ transplantation, in particular, the loss of lifesaving organs for transplantation could lead to increased waitlist mortality. The priority is to select uninfected donors to transplant uninfected recipients while maintaining safety for health care systems in the backdrop of a virulent pandemic. We do not yet have a standard approach to evaluating donors and recipients with possible SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Our current communication shares a protocol for donor and transplant recipient selection during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic to continue lifesaving solid organ transplantation for heart, lung, liver, and kidney recipients. The initial results using this protocol are presented here and meant to encourage dialogue between providers, offering ideas to improve safety in solid organ transplantation with limited health care resources. This protocol was created utilizing the guidelines of various organizations and from the clinical experience of the authors and will continue to evolve as more is understood about SARS‐CoV‐2 and how it affects organ donors and transplant recipients.

Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has become a viable and increasingly utilized option for the treatment of refractory hypoxemia in severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, options are limited for ARDS patients who fail to wean from ECMO. The high rates of infection, presence of extrapulmonary end organ damage, intensive care unit-acquired weakness, and high short-term mortality associated with ARDS are all significant hurdles that make lung transplantation a difficult prospect to consider. However, ECMO support has been used as a bridge to transplant in patients with other underlying chronic lung diseases. Our case illustrates the successful use of lung transplantation for a patient with no previous lung disease who developed refractory ARDS requiring protracted ECMO support. The use of ambulatory ECMO with early institution of physical therapy is an essential component in preparing such patients for successful transplantation.

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Anti-synthetase syndrome (AS) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the presence of aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetase antibodies in conjunction with clinical features such as interstitial lung disease (ILD), Raynaud's phenomenon, nonerosive arthritis, and myopathy. AS distinguishes itself from other inflammatory myopathies by its significant lung involvement and rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (AS-ILD), therefore the management of AS-ILD requires careful clinical, serologic and radiologic assessment. Glucocorticoids are considered the mainstay of therapy; however, additional immunosuppressive agents are often required to achieve disease control. Patient prognosis is highly dependent on early diagnosis and symptom recognition as the antibody profile is thought to influence therapy response. Since progressive ILD is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, this review will discuss the clinical approach to patient with suspected AS, with particular emphasis on diagnosis and management of AS-ILD.

A third of lung recipients have pre-existing antibodies against non-human leukocyte self-antigens (nHAbs) present in the lung tissue. These nHAbs also form de novo in about 70% of patients within 3-years following transplantation. Both pre-existing and de novo nHAbs can cause murine lung allograft rejection. However, their role in human transplantation remains unclear. We report hyperacute rejection following right lung transplant in a recipient with pre-existing nHAbs. Recipient of left lung from the same donor had uneventful initial course but developed de novo nHAbs at three weeks leading to acute humoral rejection. Both were successfully treated with antibody-directed therapies.