Despite the demand, only one in five of the potential donor lungs available in the UK are currently used in transplants.

The rest are turned down as they are in too poor condition to safely transplant, according to experts.

However, a pioneering transplant technique which cleans and reconditions lungs could help save lives and bring hope to patients who are desperately waiting for organs.

The technique, called ex-vivo lung perfusion, or EVLP, involves cleaning and aerating the donor lungs after they are removed from the donor. It is being piloted in a small-scale study and has already been shown to work in eight patients.

Co-ordinated by the DEVELOP-UK team from Newcastle University and Newcastle-upon-Tyne NHS Foundation Trust, the study will now unite all lung transplant centres in England to test the new technique.

Philippa Bradbury, from Mirfield, is one of the patients who has already benefited from lungs reconditioned using the technique.

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at 15 months old. She was put on the lung transplant list and had four calls in five months for a transplant, but each time the donor lungs were unusable.

Since having the transplant last year, Philippa has been given a new lease of life. “Before the transplant I was in and out of hospital, my quality of life had really gone down,” she says.

“Unlike my friends of similar ages, I wasn’t able to enjoy the spontaneity of going out and enjoying myself. I became too tired and too out of breath to do anything.

“After the transplant I was only in hospital for 11 days, because the reconditioned lungs were perfect.”

Fellow cystic fibrosis sufferer Sharee McPhail, from Swain House, Bradford, who was diagnosed with the condition when she was 16 months old, had given permission to accept lungs from the ex-vivo machine but was able to get a donor pair without having to use the technique.

“There is such a high percentage of lungs that are not used in the UK because they are deemed to be unsuitable for transplant, so if there is something that can fix that I think it is a superb idea,” says Sharee.

The 28-year-old’s lung function had dropped to 16 per cent before she underwent her double lung transplant at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle last year.

Sharee was told her lungs had belonged to a smoker, but she was assured they were in good condition before undergoing the operation.

She says she can’t thank her donor enough for being given the gift of life, and she hopes more people will consider joining the organ donor register.

“You are giving the gift of life. It is the ultimate gift in the event of your own death,” says Sharee.

Having the transplant has significantly changed Sharee’s life. She has returned to teaching dancing and PE, and recently undertook the Manchester 10k run, raising £200 for the charity Live Life Then Give Life, which is raising awareness of organ donation to improve and save the lives of those in need of organ and tissue transplants.

“The energy I have is like an energy I haven’t had before. It’s amazing to be able to take a deep breath without coughing,” says Sharee.

Professor Andrew Fisher, who is leading the research team, says: “Unfortunately the lungs are an incredibly delicate organ and are easily damaged by events that happen before their removal from the donor.

“If we can make more of the donor lungs currently turned down available for transplant that will be a great benefit to many patients whose lives are severely limited by severe breathing problems.

“We know already from experience in a small number of patients that this technique can work, we now need to prove it on a large scale, so that EVLP can be rolled-out across the country as a new technology in lung transplantation.”

James Neuberger, medical director for organ donation and transplantation for NHS Blood and Transplant, says: “There remains a severe shortage of organs donated for transplantation and we desperately need more people to donate and to make the best use of those organs that are donated so that more lives can be saved.

“We therefore warmly welcome this initiative that will look at novel ways in which more lungs can be made available for transplantation and save more lives.”

The DEVELOP-UK study is being funded by the Department of Health via the National Institute for Health Research, with additional funding provided by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

* For more information, or to find out more about becoming an organ donor, visit organdonation.nhs.uk or call 0300 123 2323. For more about Live Life Then Give Life visit lltgl.org.uk, call 020 32875595 or e-mail info@lltgl.org.uk.