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Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays!

This time of year, our thoughts turn gratefully to our family, friends and colleagues
who make our success possible. We thank you for all that you do,
and wish you all the best this holiday season and beyond.

Transplantation Direct - January 2023 Issue

Click to Access

The first issue of Transplantation Direct for 2023 ready for viewing!

One article examines the effect of multiple waves of COVID-19 on kidney transplant program adaptations in the US, and another reports the latest on humoral responses to vaccination in the Omicron era. Also in kidney transplantation, we have studies on immunosuppression management after allograft failure, Phaeohyphomycoses infectious complications, posttransplant cardiovascular disease, and use of Corline Heparin Conjugate during hypothermic machine perfusion in a Phase I clinical trial. On the topic of liver transplantation, there is an article analyzing the recent Acuity Circles allocation policy in the US and a case study on percutaneous direct puncture of a retropancreatic splenic vein and portal thrombectomy after living donor transplantation. In addition, we have articles on the value of kidney histology for predicting cardiorenal syndrome before heart transplantation. In islet transplantation, there is an innovative experimental study on using polycaprolactone scaffolds subcutaneously to allow repeated islet implantations. In support of transplantation research, the Australians have managed to integrate organ donation with sample collection to serve as a unique biobank; their strategy is described herein. We welcome everyone to visit our Transplantation Direct website for open access to all the details and look forward to serving you in 2023.

Press Release - Critical Path Institute (C-Path)

C-Path’s Transplant Therapeutics Consortium Receives EMA Qualification Opinion for iBox Scoring System

The iBox Scoring System is available for use in kidney transplant clinical trials as a novel secondary endpoint prognostic for allograft loss

TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 20, 2022 — Critical Path Institute (C-Path) announced today that its Transplant Therapeutics Consortium (TTC) received a qualification opinion for the iBox Scoring System as a secondary efficacy endpoint in clinical trials investigating novel immunosuppressive medicines in kidney transplant patients. This regulatory milestone was achieved through the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) qualification of novel methodologies for drug development and is the first qualified endpoint for any transplant indication. With this successful qualification, the transplant community is one step closer to having new therapies that better the lives of transplant recipients.

Read the full press release

Since 2017 TTS has been participating in the Transplantation Therapeutics Consortium (TTC), a program of the Critical Path Institute.

2023 International Transplantation Science Meeting

The ITS 2023 committee is extending the abstract submission deadline to January 16, 2023 at 23:59 EST due to the general demand from the basic science community.

Click for details

Transplantation Updates

Transplantation - Highlighted Articles

“Predicting Early Allograft Function After Normothermic Machine Perfusion

Normothermic ex situ liver perfusion is increasingly used to assess donor livers, but there remains a paucity of evidence regarding criteria upon which to base a viability assessment or criteria predicting early allograft function.

Transplantation Direct - Highlighted Tweet

Assessment of dd-cfDNA Levels in Clinically Stable Lung Allograft Recipients Beyond the Initial 2 y Posttransplant

Donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) is a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of acute allograft injury within the first 1 to 2 y after lung transplant, but its utility for diagnosing chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) has not yet been studied. Understanding baseline dd-cfDNA kinetics beyond the initial 2 y posttransplant is a necessary first step in determining the utility of dd-cfDNA as a CLAD biomarker. We seek to establish baseline dd-cfDNA% levels in clinically stable lung allograft recipients who are >2 y posttransplant.

Be vigilant when receiving email requests for money!

This week some section members were targeted by fraudsters impersonating (spoofing) other members, urgently requesting money on behalf on another colleague utilizing non-TTS e-mail addresses (in this case aol.com emails).

We remind you to be wary when you receive an email requesting emergency funds from another member (or any person).

In almost all cases this will be a fraud attempt and we do not recommend proceeding or even replying to the message unless it has been properly vetted by your IT department. If it involves a person impersonating a TTS or section representative please send a copy of the message to inspect@tts.org..

Click below for tips in recognizing such schemes/scams as well as how the latest spoofing attempt targeting some section members was designed.

Tips/ Resources: for recognizing fraudsters

FBI - Difference between Spoofing and Phishing schemes
https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/safety-resources/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/spoofing-and-phishing

How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams (by the USA Office of Inspector General)
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams

Google - Avoid and report phishing emails
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8253?hl=en

TTS Email Server Security

TTS (@tts.org and all meeting website managed by TTS) uses DKIM to sign all our outgoing emails so when your provider receives an email form a @tts.org email they are able to authenticate the message. “DKIM” or “DomainKeys Identified Mail” is an email authentication method designed to detect forged sender addresses in email "spoofing", a technique often used in phishing and email spam.

The recent spoofing method to target individuals of TTS Sections:

The scheme is very simple and basic in the approach

Step 1: The fraudster creates an email account with a large email provider (aol.com, gmail, outlook, yahoo, hotmail, etc). They then use the name of the person they are impersonating, or an acronym of a recognizable institution (for example president.ipita@aol.com) in the user portion of the email address.

Step 2: They visit a website and scrape the names in the council list or committee members list then search for their email addresses on PubMed of Google.

Step 3: They will, in most cases, send emails requesting emergency financial assistance (stuck an an airport, lost their wallet, etc) and they will ask for you to call them or send money by western union, moneygram, worldremit. wise, etc). The common denominator is the amounts are usually <$1000 however they can be larger but usually with bigger amounts they will ask for a wire transfer. Usually they will try to get you on the phone or simply send you an email with how to send the money.

Step 4: If they get someone on the phone there is an added danger if they get you to log into a website or click a link while on the phone. This spoofing attempt may turn into a Phishing attempt to gain control of your computer.

Hot Off The Press

RECENT PUBLICATIONS IDENTIFIED
BY TTS EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Reviewed and edited by Enver Akalin, M.D.

Utility of Banff Human Organ Transplant Gene Panel in Human Kidney Transplant Biopsies

Rex N. Smith et al.
Transplantation. 2022 Nov 18. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000004389.
PMID: 36525551

This study analyzed 217 clinically indicated and 94 protocol biopsy FFPE blocks by nanostring technology for the Banff Human Organ Transplant (B-HOT) panel of 770 genes, which includes both gene sets from microarrays and other relevant published transcripts. Principal components (PCs) of gene expressions were used to identify allograft diagnoses, to classify diagnoses, and to determine whether the PC data were rich enough to identify diagnostic subtypes by clustering. PCs of microarray gene sets identified the Banff categories of renal allograft diagnoses, modeled well the aggregate diagnoses, showing a similar correspondence with the pathologic diagnoses as microarrays. Clustering of the PCs identified diagnostic subtypes including non-chronic antibody-mediated rejection with high endothelial expression. PCs of cell types and pathways identified new mechanistic patterns including differential expression of B and plasma cells. The authors concluded that B-HOT panel could be used to identify allograft diagnoses.

Read full article

What Have We Learned From In Vitro Studies About Pig-to-primate Organ Transplantation?

Hidetaka Hara et al.
Transplantation. 2022 Dec 20. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000004458.
PMID: 36536507

This is a review article of in vitro assays in relation to primate antibody binding to, and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) of, pig cells, and how they can predict in vivo studies. The authors summarize as:

Humans develop no or minimal antibody to triple-knockout (TKO) pig cells and unlikely to rapidly reject a TKO organ, particularly if the organ also expresses human “protective”.
There is good correlation between immunoglobulin (Ig)M (but not IgG) binding and complement injury.
Old World non-human primates develop antibodies to TKO pig cells and are not optimal recipients of TKO organs.
Galactosyltransferase gene-knockout/β4GalNT2KO pigs are preferred for Old World non-human primates.
Humans develop anti-pig IgE and IgA antibodies against pig cells, but their role remains uncertain.
In a small percentage of allo-sensitized humans, antibodies that cross-react with swine leukocyte antigens may be detrimental to a pig organ xenograft.
Prior sensitization to pig antigens is unlikely to be detrimental to a subsequent allograft.
Deletion of expression of Gal and Neu5Gc is associated with a reduction in the T-cell response to pig cells.

Read full article

TTS-ILTS Paired Transplant Centers Program - Application Deadline: January 1

Click here for details and to apply

Program Schedule

Deadline to Apply: January 1, 2023
Program Start Date: April 1, 2023

WHO

An experienced supporting transplant center (SC) in the developed world is paired with an emerging transplant center (EC) to facilitate vital multidisciplinary training and an exchange of knowledge and expertise.

WHY

The project aims to benefit both centers. The SC is involvedin global health, and promotes ethical and competent transplantation in regions of the world with limited or no current access to transplantation. The EC connects with a multidisciplinary team of experts in transplantation from a world-leading center.

GOAL

The ultimate goal is for Level 3 centers to graduate and become true local centers of excellence for regional training and support.

STEPS

The TTS-ILTS Paired Transplant Centers Program is bound by a limited budget which it cannot exceed. This budget is divided over all center pairs who receive a different financial allocation dependent on their level within the program.

Level 1 - maximum annual allocation per pair: $ 3,500 USD
Level 2 - maximum annual allocation per pair: $12,000 USD
Level 3 - maximum annual allocation per pair: $15,000 USD

Programs Launched in April 2022

Dow Universtiy Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan paired with the University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

TTS and ILTS congratulates these teams and wishes them every success in their collaborations over the next six years and beyond.

IPTA 2023 - Extended Early-Bird Registration Deadline

Join us in Austin, Texas, March 25-28, 2023, for the 12th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association!

Early-Bird Registration Extended Deadline: January 15, 2023

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

While you are here ...
Read the IPTA December 2022 Newsletter!

Click here to access

Upcoming Webinars

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND TO REGISTER

Latest Recordings

The Asian Society of Transplantation (AST) added videos from their symposium at ATW2022 in Korea. Asian Society of Transplantation members can access the videos via their member portal on www.myasot.org and TTS members may access on our website.

Access on tts.org website

Visit AST Website

SPLIT is running a "4th Year Fellow Series" which includes talks on advanced hepatology and pediatric transplantation topics aimed to increase the knowledge of 4th year liver transplant fellows globally.

The series is open to SPLIT Fellows only however all TTS and SPLIT members may view the recordings!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW (OPEN FOR TTS and SPLIT Members)

Survey - Using Social Media to Promote Cutting-Edge Research in Transplantation

Greetings,

Researchers from NYU Langone Health are conducting a research study titled Using Social Media to Promote Cutting-Edge Research in Transplantation. Dr. Macey Levan from the Departments of Surgery and Population Health at NYU Langone Health is the Principal Investigator leading this research. The purpose of this study is to learn how members of the Transplantation community use social media for professional purposes and how they see themselves using it in the future.

You qualify to complete this study if you fall under one of the following categories:

Subscribers to the weekly email of new published articles in the Transplantation or Transplantation Direct journals
Have submitted an article to the Transplantation or Transplantation Direct journals in the past 5 years
Member of The Transplantation Society (TTS)
Subscribers to newsletters from the TTS (Quarterly - Tribune, Weekly - Tribune Pulse)

Participation in this study is voluntary and will consist of completing an online survey about your thoughts on how you use social media for professional purposes and how you see yourself using it in the future. It will take about 5 minutes of your time.

If you are interested in participating, please click the link below to complete the survey:

https://nyumc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxvqr2xMkhhuyeW

If you have any questions or concerns about this study, please contact Dr. Levan at Macey.Levan@nyulangone.org.

This study has been reviewed by the NYU Langone Health Institutional Review Board (Study Number: 22-00681).

Sincerely,

The Editors and Communications
Offices of the Transplantation Journal
& Transplantation Society

Click here to take the survey!

ISODP December 2022 Journal Watch Just Released

To all the Journal Watch Readers for 2022,

As 2022 winds down, we have one last edition delivered straight from the North Pole. As always, we are pleased to report a diverse selection of articles with topics ranging from public outreach to specific communities to artificial intelligence predictions of time to death after terminal extubation. The topics selected will certainly inform practice and policy, but more importantly they open avenues of future investigation, highlighting areas that require a better understanding from donation stakeholders. Start looking for grants and don’t be afraid to seek out collaborators among these authors!

Read the ISODP Journal Watch December 2022 Issue