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Transplantation Direct - August Issue now available
The August issue of Transplantation Direct covers several topics in transplantation. In kidney transplantation, KDRI and Leuven score predictors of allograft survival are compared for utility; another study looks at celiac-like duodenopathy in the differential diagnosis of MPA-associated diarrhea. Studies in lung transplantation report on viral respiratory tract infections and chronic allograft dysfunction, and on the occurrence and sequelae of hypogammaglobinemia; both studies focus on data in the first year posttransplantation. In intestinal transplantation, we include two reports: one investigation looks at the occurrence and impact of cases requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation, and the other study reports on results from patients receiving transplants from an identical twin. The growing problem of posttransplant malignancy and increasing use of checkpoint inhibitors for treatment is examined; a case of liver allograft failure is reported with nivolumab treatment, and a review of the literature of additional cases is provided. Regarding the topic of organ donation, we have a survey analysis devoted to examining attitudes of potential donors with stage 5 chronic kidney disease. We hope that you find this issue both engaging and stimulating.
Ground-breaking study tests whether rejected livers can be made viable for transplantation
August 2 - A ground-breaking study is underway at the University of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to establish if livers that have been rejected for transplantation can be made viable by using a liver perfusion machine.
Should Australia change its organ donation laws? | 60 Minutes Australia
Dr Dominique Martin, an expert in the ethics of organ donation, tells 60 Minutes that while recipients and donor families knowing each other can be a wonderful experience – it's not without pitfalls
HighlightED ARTICLE - Transplantation Journal
Effects of Kidney Transplantation on Labor Market Outcomes in Sweden
Australia - Innovative dialysis system awarded $2.2 million
New South Wales Minister for Health and Medical Research The Hon Brad Hazzard has announced Ellen Medical Devices, the developer of The George Institute's affordable dialysis system, as a recipient of a grant from the 2018 NSW Medical Devices Fund.
The affordable dialysis system has the potential to save millions of lives as an innovative and affordable device which costs under $1,000 to build and $5 a day to run, improving access to the life-saving treatment for vulnerable populations.
HighlightED ARTICLE - Transplantation Direct
Long-term Prognosis and Recurrence of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis After Liver Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience.
Submitted by Dr Peri Kocabayoglu, Editorial Fellow, Transplantation.
Ueda Y, Kaido T, Okajima H, et al. Transplant Direct. 2017;3;e334.
For patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) as the underlying cause of end-stage liver disease, liver transplantation (LT) provides the only life-saving treatment. However, recurrence of the disease is frequent. Multiple risk factors appear to play a role.
In this sinlge-center retrospective chart review of 45 patients transplanted at Kyoto University from 1996 – 2015, Ueda and coworkers present risk factors for PSC recurrence and graft survival. 39/45 patients received a living-donor LT, 2/45 a deceased donor, and 4/45 a domino LT. Factors that could predict PSC recurrence were analyzed by comparing patients with (n=16) and without (n=24) PSC recurrence; patients with an arterial thrombosis or those who received an ABO-incompatible LDLT were excluded from the analysis. The graft survival rates were 55.4% at 5 years and 32.8% by all patients in the cohort. PSC recurrence was diagnosed in 40% of patients by 30 months after transplantation (median, range 9-70 months).
Risk factor for graft failure in a univariate analysis included: age < 30 years at the time of PSC diagnosis (P = 0.005), female donor (P = 0.029), HLA-DR15 positivity (P = 0.032), and bacteremia within 1 year after liver transplantation (P = 0.014). In a multivariate analysis, age < 30 years at time of PSC diagnosis (HR, 3.77; 95% CI, 1.28-11.1; P = 0.016) and bacteremia within 1 year after liver transplantation (HR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.07-5.30; P = 0.034) had been identified as independent predictors of PSc reoccurrence.
While the retrospective analysis in addition to the small size represent limitations, long follow-up period of this study appears unique.
MESOT 2018 Program now available
TTS will be exhibiting at MESOT and a large number of TTS members will be attending or presenting at the Congress. There is still time to register, see link below!
In the News
Transplant with HCV-Infected Kidney Seems Feasible - Small trial found good cure rate, renal function in HCV-negative patients
August 7 - In a cohort of 20 HCV-negative patients, all patients were able to achieve HCV cure after transplantation with an infected kidney, reported Peter Reese, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues.
Nonprofit’s plan to take over the U.S. organ network is thwarted
August 3 - A government legal opinion has dashed the hopes of an upstart nonprofit organization that wants to take over operation of the nation’s organ transplant network. Organs for Life, a new nonprofit critical of the way the transplant system is run, hoped to bid for the fiscal 2019 contract to oversee the vast and complex U.S. organ transplant system.
New system of consent for organ and tissue donation in England announced by ministers
August 5 - The government has announced the introduction of a new “soft” opt-out system for organ and tissue donation in England, in order to tackle a shortage of donors.
Around 300,000 organ donors registered in Qatar
August 4 - Nearly 35,000 people have registered to become an organ donor since May when Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) launched its annual organ donation campaign, that was kicked off during Ramadan and will run until the end of this year. Since the Qatar Organ Donor Registry was launched in 2012, around 300,000 donors, or 15 percent of the country’s adult population, have signed up to become an organ dono
Australians going overseas to get organ transplants in higher numbers than expected
August 2 - To get a more accurate picture, Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) president-elect Toby Coates surveyed members of the transplant community to see how many had dealt with patients who had overseas transplants.
UCLA researchers discover how the body regenerates blood vessel lining
August 2 - Normal wear and tear damages the blood vessel lining, which is called the endothelial lining. The body, however, has the ability to initiate molecular activity that regenerates and repairs this damage. Now, researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have for the first time followed this regeneration in progress and identified the genes and proteins responsible for spurring it.
