The 9^th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA) took place in Barcelona, Spain, from May 27-30, 2017 and was a great success both in terms of its excellent attendance and its scientific quality. Topics being addressed were updates and new data from ongoing pediatric transplant clinical trials (CTOTC), long-term complications following transplantation, standards for surveillance and treatment of infections in transplantation, perspectives in immune tolerance, up-to-date data from important registries, new and emerging immunosuppressive agents, ethical dilemmas in pediatric transplantation, devices used to support transplantation, issues in noncompliance and transfer of care, just to name a few.

There were special sessions designed for allied health-care professionals (AHP), who have a strong international AHP community within IPTA. The IPTA Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed post-humously to Dr. William Harmon, and the Pioneer in Transplantation Award to Dr. Benedict Cosimi. Attendees from around the globe had the opportunity to network and plan for future clinical and research collaboration.

The 5^th Congress on Pediatric Transplantation was IPTA’s highest attended congress to date! Over 500 colleagues, spanning 62 countries, joined IPTA in Istanbul, Turkey for an exceptional educational experience. The scientific program included 228 oral presentations and 235 poster presentations. Thank you to all our faculty and presenters who have contributed to the success of this Congress.

The Pre-Congress Post Graduate Course focused on Quality of Life and Vaccines and Viruses in Transplant Recipients. Organized by Drs. Simon Horslen, Michael Green, and Fabienne Dobbels, the course drew over 100 Congress attendees. We plan to continue this course at future meetings based on the positive feedback received.

Sponsorship for the conference continues to increase, and we would like to thank all of our Congress sponsors and exhibitors.Their support was critical to the success of the meeting.

We would also like to thank everyone who completed the online Congress survey. Your input is valuable to the continued success of the meeting and we will try to incorporate the feedback received into the planning of the 2011 Congress. If you did not complete the online survey or have additional comments about future meetings, please forward them to the IPTA office at sections@tts.org

This Congress continues to be the leading meeting for those engaged in pediatric transplantation. Be sure to mark your calendars and plan to attend the next Congress of the IPTA, June 25 – 28, 2011 in Montreal, Canada.

The International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA) organized its first symposium in India jointly with the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital on 29^th October 2006 in New Delhi, India. Members of the faculty included IPTA members and council and leading personnel from the Indian transplant program.

This symposium brought together faculty members from different parts of India and Birmingham with 150 delegates from all over India. The talks focused on indications, outcomes and logistic problems in liver and kidney transplantation. The conference had interactive sessions comparing the international scenario with the Indian situation. The practicalities of implementing cadaveric donor transplantation in India was discussed. There are many challenges in India, which include very late referrals, financial constraints, donor issues, girl-child bias and limitations in uniformity of resources and infrastructure beyond major cities. In spite of these challenges, the Indian kidney and liver transplantation program has shown steady development with a growing number of transplantation and improving results.

Deirdre Kelly, Immediate Past-President
Anupam Sibal, IPTA Council Member