Transplantation Journal OCtober Issue

How important are DCs in tolerance and do Tfr have a role in antibody responses? Your questions are answered in this issue. Packed with information on issues as far apart as the progression of mGFR in living kidney donors; outcomes of bone marrow transplants in aplastic anemia; and a novel method to predict recurrence of HCC after liver transplantation, there is plenty to keep you interested.

LINK TO THE ISSUE

Link for TTS Members to Access (requires login)

ISN-TTS SISTER TRANSPLANT CENTERS PROGRAM - October 1 Deadline

The deadline to submit an application to the ISN - TTS Sister Transplant Centers Program is October 1, 2018 (for 2019).

The ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Centers Program is a joint partnership set up between ISN and The Transplantation Society (TTS) to create new kidney transplant centers and develop existing kidney transplant programs in emerging countries. This initiative encourages transplant centers to work together to increase opportunities for kidney transplant patients in developing countries.

Read more on th program and get some useful tips

ALmost 300 Signups - LAST CHANCE FOR YOU TO REGISTER!
TTS-STALyC ONLINE INTERACTIVE UPDATE COURSE
IMMUNOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN SOLID ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION

From October 3 to November 27

Over an eight week period, featuring 28 online presentations, we will guide your through all the important aspects in immunology. We have enlisted many expert tutors to accompany the participants in the discussion by replying to questions throughout the week. The course was designed to allow participants to learn at their own pace and time during each week of the course.

The course has two sets of pricing (regular and for students/residents):

• Regular fees are $100 USD, $40 USD for TTS or STALyC Members; $20 if you are a member of both TTS and STALyC.
• Students/Residents can register for $40, $20 for TTS or STALyC Members, free for TTS AND STALyC Members.
• We will allow registration at the reduced member fees if you submit your application(s) prior to registering for the course.

Share this information with your fellows, post-docs and students!

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT WWW.TTS-STALYC.ORG

TTS IS exhibiting at THE Transplant Nursing Symposium

Come visit our booth!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM

Heart, Heart-Lung Specialists Wanted!

The Heart and Lung Committee is seeking TTS Heart and Lung Specialist who want to take an active role in increasing H+L activity at TTS.

Email committees@tts.org if you are interested!

WIT OCtober 4 Networking event @ ASHI

Space is limited - signup today!

NIH's first Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity, Dr. Hannah Valantine, will describe NIH's current approach and activities related to promoting inclusive excellence through fostering workforce diversity, and highlight four main diversity challenges facing biomedicine. She will also describe the development and use of the NIH Scientific Workforce Diversity Toolkit: a free, downloadable interactive resource to help advance faculty diversity through evidence-based interrelated activities. A key focus will be the need to advance institutional accountability for lasting change.

Clikc here for more details and to signup

Save tHe Dates!

TRANSPLANTATION JOURNAL - HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLE

Dr Karen Keung, Editorial Fellow, Transplantation.

Beta Cell Death by Cell-free DNA and Outcome After Clinical Islet Transplantation
Gala-Lopez BL, Neiman D, Kin T, et al.
Transplantation. 2018;102:978-985.

Successful islet transplantation (IT) may be hindered by cell death linked to cell hypoxia and inflammatory responses in the early stages after intraportal infusion. Clinically, more than 1 infusion is often required to achieve insulin independence. There are currently no established measures to determine extent of beta cells death, however circulating cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) derived from beta cells has been recently identified as a potential novel biomarker to detect cell loss in newly diagnosed Type 1 DM and islet graft recipients. In this study the authors measured levels of beta cell-specific cf-DNA in a clinical cohort and evaluated findings against outcomes including insulin independence by 3 mths posttransplant. Patients receiving a first intraportal allotransplant or a retransplant after a < 1 year were included. In total, 37 recipients had blood taken at 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, and 1 month after IT; cf-DNA was extracted from the plasma. 20 patients (54.1%) were insulin independent 3 mths posttransplant, and a favorable Beta 2 score (>15 points) was calculated. Two distinct signal peaks of beta cells cf-DNA levels were identified by 1 (83.8% of patients) and 24 hrs (21.6% of patients). The signal by 1 hr did not correlate with outcomes; however, the 24-hr positive beta cell cf-DNA level was inversely associated with both insulin independence (ROC AUC = 0.70, P = 0.03) and beta 2 score (ROC AUC= 0.77, P = 0.006). The authors submit that 24- hr beta cell cf-DNA levels may predict early engraftment by 3 mths and may complement the initial assessment of islet engraftment and function.

CLICK TO READ THIS OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE

Organ transplant documentary on Nova reveals hope as well as agony

In the documentary "Transplanting Hope," parents look at their baby. The infant is in need of a transplant. (National Film Board of Canada)

The documentary, which aired on PBS stations at 9 p.m. Wednesday, takes viewers into hallways, conference rooms, airplanes, research labs and operating theaters where the life-or-death drama of organ transplantation takes place. It looks toward future technologies that could make procedures more successful. And it makes the stakes of a worldwide organ shortage clear.

CLICK HERE To read more

In the News

Uterus transplantation -- ethically just as problematic as altruistic surrogacy

September 26 - In 2014, the first child to have been gestated in a donated uterus was born. Although research into uterus transplantation is still in an early phase, many see the donations as a success. Researchers have now studied ethical aspects of uterus transplantation. The results show that uterus transplantation with living donors is ethically just as problematic as altruistic surrogacy.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Disparities seen in access to preemptive transplant listing

September 27 - The new Kidney Allocation System has not solved inequities that low-income and minority patients with kidney disease face when seeking the benefits of preemptive waitlisting for a transplant, Drexel University College of Medicine researchers reported in a study published in the Journal Clinical Transplantation.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Hepatitis C triples diabetes risk following kidney transplantation

September 26 - Risk for developing diabetes after undergoing kidney transplantation increased more than threefold for adults with presurgical hepatitis C infection vs. those with hepatitis B and those without infection, according to study results from researchers in China.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Research provides new insight into transplant rejection

September 27 - In a new study, published in Nature Communications, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital reveal insights that may help explain the mechanisms behind skin graft failure. The results of the study may also help make organ transplantation more successful in the future.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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3D Action Film Stars Cancer Cell as the Villain

A team has developed a new hybrid imaging technology to produce amazing, live-action 3D movies of living cells in their more natural state. In this video, you're looking at a human breast cancer cell (green) making its way through a blood vessel (purple) of a young zebrafish.

LINK TO THE ARTICLE

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Managing Organ Donation Preferences in Cases With Circulatory Determination of Death

September 19 - Organ donation immediately following the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy and circulatory determination of death (DCDD) is a growing practice, allowing transplantation surgical staff to rapidly recover organs prior to ischemic organ injury.

LINK TO THE ARTICLE

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Kidney Transplant Outcomes Unaffected by Dialysis Modality

September 21 - Choice of dialysis modality—hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD)—prior to kidney transplantation does not affect transplant outcomes, according to a study. Following receipt of kidneys from donors after cardiac death, patients who previously had been on PD or HD had similar rates of complications and patient, graft, and death-censored graft survival, Xiajing Che, MD, of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China, and colleagues reported in BMC Nephrology.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

CTRMS SPECIAL WORKSHOP

Full program is now available on THEIR website!

VISIT THE WORKSHOP WEBSITE

IPTA 2018 Symposium

The International Pediatric Transplant Association is proud to feature a special section activity: the 2018 Symposium in Organ Transplantation in Children: An educational forum for physicians, surgeons, and allied health professionals.

The focus of this symposium is aimed at clinical and research fellows in pediatric solid organ transplantation, as well as residents, and other allied health professional or non-physician trainees who are planning a career in pediatric transplantation.

VISIT THE SYMPOSIUM WEBSITE