Philip J. O’Connell

Recently I attended two meetings that highlighted both the challenges and the opportunities that we face currently. The first meeting was the Middle Eastern Society of Organ Transplantation that was held in Istanbul. This was the 14th meeting of MESOT and I would say it was a resounding success.

Everyone knows that the Middle East is suffering politically and regional co-operation is difficult. Yet I was struck by the determination of those at this meeting to offer high quality care to their patients, to work co-operatively for the good of humanity and to look optimistically to the future.

A COMMON SENSE OF PURPOSE THAT LIFTED ONES SPIRITS AND MADE ME PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF SUCH A COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONALS

There was much discussion about how to develop well regulated and ethical deceased donor programs and an eagerness to look at this from a regional perspective. Also there was a great sense of camaraderie and co-operation and although there were people from over 50 nationalities with nations as diverse as Israel and Iran, there was a common sense of purpose that lifted ones spirits and made me proud to be a member of such a community of professionals.

The second meeting I attended was a meeting in Geneva to develop overarching ethical principles regarding the treatment of donors of Medical Products of Human Origin (MPHO). This was hosted by the WHO and included representatives from several organizations that deal with human organs, tissues and cells. Apart from TTS, the International Society of Blood Transfusion, Worldwide Network for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the International Council for Commonality in Blood Banking Automation were also represented. This meeting was concerned with the protection of human donors and was in response to the recognition that MPHO are becoming more complex and, as a result, in many instances the demands on donors are greater.

This has led these four societies to come together to develop an overarching set of principles to safeguard the donor, which is the essential source for many of these therapies. Again I was struck by spirit of co-operation. Also there was a common sense of purpose and all societies share a sense of respect for the donor, and an understanding that donors of MPHO do so for the benefit of others. Also there was a consensus that donation should be free of inducement and the principle of non-commercialization of MPHO arises from the respect for fundamental human dignity. In the coming months it is anticipated that the four societies will endorse a common document that will outline the ethical principles for the treatment of individuals who are donors of MPHO. TTS is deeply involved in the development of this document and I will keep you updated of developments.

I THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE AS WE TRY TO TACKLE THOSE PROBLEMS THAT ARE COMMON TO ALL REGIONS AND ARE HOLDING BACK THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION.

Although these two meetings were quite diverse in nature there was a common thread running through both of them and that was the realization that difficult issues can only be overcome by co-operation. What we can do together far outweighs the collective efforts we make when acting alone. I think this is an important message as we try to tackle those problems that are common to all regions and are holding back the true potential of organ transplantation. These issues include ways to improve organ donation by removing disincentives, improving long term graft survival, reinvigorating R & D in transplant immunosuppression and developing new trial designs that will bring to transplantation the incredible potential of individualized medicine. Success in these areas will only be achieved through co-operation, not only between centres but between regions and internationally. TTS hopes to be at the forefront of these initiatives and we look forward to working together to solve these challenging problems.

Recently on the TTS website, you would have seen that four TTS members, representing the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group, had an opportunity to meet with His Holiness Pope Francis to discuss our common concerns about organ trafficking and commercialization. It was pleasing to see that this important international and moral issue could be brought to the attention of a person of such influence. TTS wishes to acknowledge the outstanding work of Francis Delmonico and Ignazio Marino (Mayor of Rome) in organizing this meeting and bringing to the forefront this important issue. Hopefully this will bring further pressure to curb this world-wide problem and be a stimulus to a co-ordinated effort to prevent its further dissemination.

The final and perhaps most important matter I wish to discuss is the recent passing of Ray Owen at the age of 98. Professor Owen made one of the seminal observations in immunology when he described for the first time immunological tolerance in dizygotic twins that shared to same placenta. His seminal paper in Science in 1947 was publically acknowledged by Macfarlane Burnett and Medawar as the foundation for their work that led to them being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1960.

Professor Owen was widely respected as a modest but highly accomplished scientist and mentor of many who went on to make their mark in transplantation. His discovery led to a revolution in immunology and was the impetus to the rapid development of clinical transplantation. A tribute is being written for Transplantation by Leslie Brent, a past president of the Society. I urge you all to read it as well as Professor Owen’s brief but eloquent paper in Science. A truly remarkable man who will be long remembered by all of us who are involved in transplantation science and medicine.

I wish you all well and look forward to meeting many of you soon.  

Kathryn J. Wood

Serguei Gautier
Chairman, Russian Transplant Society

At the invitation of Russian colleagues, professor of surgery Francis L. Delmonico, then President of The Transplantation Society (TTS), visited the Moscow Institute of Transplantation in June 2014. The invitation was made to consult and exchange experience in the organization of the national system of organ donation and transplantation.

At the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Prof. Delmonico was received by the Minister of Health, Veronika Skvortsova. Also present at the meeting was Deputy Minister, Tatyana Yakovleva and Deputy Minister, Dmitry Kostennikov. Minister Skvortsova expressed gratitude to TTS and personally to Prof. Delmonico for fruitful cooperation and the promotion of organ donation and transplantation in Russia. Prof. Delmonico then participated in a business meeting with the developers of the new law on donation of human organs and transplantation. During the discussion, the participants reaffirmed the commonality of views on the goals and objectives of the national legislation, which is to promote organ donation and transplantation in the country in accordance with the needs of the population in organ transplantation and donor resources.

The next day, Prof. Delmonico visited academician V.I. Shumakov Federal Research Center of Transplantology and Artificial Organs. Prof. Sergey Gautier, Chairman of the Russian Transplant Society, and member of the Declaration of Istanbul Group, heads the Center. The Center is the leading medical and scientific organization in Russia in the field of transplantation and biomedical technologies. More than 300 organ transplantations are performed annually at the Center; in 2013, 101 heart transplants, 90 liver transplants and 112 kidney transplants were carried out there. The Center also prepares medical and scientific personnel to work in the field of transplantation for the whole country.

Following the visit, Prof. Delmonico personally thanked Prof. Gautier and his colleagues for the warm welcome, and wished them much success; furthermore, on behalf of The Transplantation Society Prof. Delmonico expressed interest in continued future cooperation.

The Transplantation Society recently exhibited at the 14th Congress of the Middle Eastern Society of Transplantation. The program featured many TTS members and was a great success. Below are some photos from the event.

On September 19th, 2014, Mirela Bušic, Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, Mehmet Haberal and Francis Delmonico representing the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group (DICG) met with Pope Francis in Vatican City to ask of his endorsement of the principles of the Declaration of Istanbul in its fight against organ trafficking.

“ORGAN TRAFFICKING AND COMMERCIALIZATION ARE IMMORAL... DICG IS AT LIBERTY TO CONVEY THIS MESSAGE ON MY BEHALF” - POPE FRANCIS

The private audience was hosted by Ignazio Marino, Mayor of Rome.

The DICG delegation constituted was to ensure international representation, and from countries with outstanding deceased donation rates (Croatia and Spain). Professor Haberal was to be acknowledged as a benefactor of DICG.

Background information submitted to Pope Francis included data that only 10% (100,000) of the needed 1 million transplants are performed each year. Poor people are selling their organs throughout the world, with brokers exploiting their destitution. Organ trafficking violates the principles of justice, equity and respect for human dignity. Six years ago (2008), professionals from all over the world came to Istanbul to write the Declaration of Istanbul, to combat organ trafficking and transplant tourism and commercialism. DICG’s mission is to curtail these practices and promote ethical donation and transplantation throughout the world.

Organ trafficking is continuing in at least China, South East Asia, Egypt, Pakistan, India, with recipients coming from Canada and US, Western European countries, Australia, and the Gulf countries. Organ trafficking has now made its way to Latin America. In the US, there is a movement to enable cash payments/benefits/college tuitions/tax credits/retirement benefits as a way of enticing the young to be compensated for their organs. DICG has opposed that direction and needed support of Pope Francis to ensure that the US Congress will not amend the law prohibiting organ commercialization. Financial incentives are to be distinguished from removing financial disincentives and rendering the donor at a monetary loss. Nevertheless, curtailing organ trafficking requires increasing organ availability and understanding donation as a gesture of social responsibility.

A seminal legal tool has just been adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe – a Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs. Wide support to this Convention will help national legislations to be aligned for prosecuting these illegal practices. Donation has been successfully developed in Croatia and Spain, based on a principle of community. DICG is now promoting the model of Croatia throughout South Eastern Europe.

Pope Francis concluded: “Organ trafficking and commercialization are immoral, ... and DICG is at liberty to convey this message on my behalf”

As a result of the private DICG audience the following recommendations were proposed: to retain the prohibition against financial gain for organ donation, including in the United States, since amending NOTA would not only be consequential to the US, but to the rest of the world; to support the recently adopted Council of Europe Convention against organ trafficking and to call for deceased organ donation by all cultures throughout the world. DICG has been invited to submit a background/reference document that Pope Francis will use in a pronouncement to be widely reported in 2015.

Philip J. O’Connell
2016 TTS Congress Chair

(excerpt from the September press release)

2014 WORLD TRANSPLANT CONGRESS HIGHLIGHTS

The 2014 World Transplant Congress (WTC) was the must-attend event for professionals involved in solid organ and tissue transplantation, held July 26-31 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, CA.

As the second joint meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), The Transplantation Society (TTS), and the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the event brought together more than 6,000 experts in the field as a way to encourage collaboration, discover and exchange new scientific and clinical information, and identify future opportunities in transplantation.

The 2014 WTC meeting featured specific tracks designed to cater to professionals focused on:

• • Allied Health
• • Basic Science
• • Heart Transplantation
• • Immunology
• • Immunosuppression
• • Infectious Disease
• • Liver Transplantation
• • Nephrology
• • Organ Donation
• • Pathology
• • Pediatric Transplantation
• • Tissue Injury/Prevention
• • Xenotransplantation

Throughout the six-day event, scientific material was presented through plenary sessions, concurrent workshops, peer-reviewed oral and poster presentations, state-of-the-art symposia sessions and small parallel workshops designed for in-depth exploration of both clinical and basic science topics. In total, there were nearly 3,500 abstracts, 100 concurrent oral sessions, and 2,000 posters were presented.

NEARLY 3,500 ABSTRACTS, 100 CONCURRENT ORAL SESSIONS AND 2,000 POSTERS WERE PRESENTED

Eric Schadt, PhD, the Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor of Genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Director of the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, delivered his State-of-the-Art address on Monday, July 28, giving attendees insight into his novel approach for studying complex human diseases. Dr. Schadt discussed his method for generating and integrating very large-scale genomic variation, molecular profiling, and clinical data to construct biological network models that define disease states and link molecular biology to physiology—which as a result, offers new insights into the complex mechanisms of diseases, such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and helps identify potential therapeutic targets.

On Tuesday, July 29, Nobel Laureate, Dr. Alvin E. Roth, delivered his state-of-the-art lecture, providing an economist’s perspective to kidney exchange. Dr. Roth described how changes in the way transplants are organized has increased access to transplantation, and how further changes may yield further improvements.

Roth was awarded the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, jointly with Lloyd Shapley, for his work on the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design. One of the marketplaces he has helped design is the National Resident Matching Program, in addition to helping in the organization of kidney exchange. He is currently the McCaw Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard University.

On day five of the 2014 Congress, Professor Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Kyoto University in Japan, was the state-of-the-art featured speaker. Yamanaka, also a Nobel Laureate, was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of reprogramming and converting mature, specialized cells into pluripotent cells, capable of developing into all tissues of the body.

During his State-of-the-Art address, Dr. Yamanaka discussed technologies related to iPSC generation, in addition to improvements achieved in iPSC production in terms of both safety and efficiency.

The meeting wrapped up with a closing session that offered attendees an overview of the full event and highlights of research presented throughout the meeting.

Dr. Sachs graduated summa cum laude in chemistry from Harvard College in 1963, following which he studied organic chemistry as a Fulbright Fellow in Paris, receiving a D.E.S. from the University of Paris in 1964. He then returned to Boston to enter Harvard Medical School, where he earned his M.D., magna cum laude, in 1968. During medical school, he became fascinated with the newly developing field of transplantation, particularly with the concept of transplantation tolerance, shown a decade earlier by Sir Peter Medawar and colleagues, to be inducible in mice by exposure to foreign cells very early in life. If similar tolerance could be induced in adults, patients might eventually be able to accept transplanted organs without long-term immunosuppression. In hopes of studying this problem further, he approached Dr. Paul S. Russell at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to request a position in his laboratory as a student research assistant. This was the beginning of a long career in the field of transplantation tolerance – and also of his long and continuing association with Dr. Russell, and with the MGH.

With the intent of becoming a transplant surgeon, as well as continuing his research career in this field, Dr. Sachs entered the surgical residency at MGH in 1968. He took a two-year leave of absence from that residency in 1970 to join the Public Health Service as a clinical research fellow at the NIH. A series of discoveries and promotions led to prolongation of that leave of absence for 21 years, during which time he became Chief of the Immunology Branch and developed a major program in transplantation research. In 1991, he returned to Boston as the Paul S. Russell Professor of Surgery and Immunology at Harvard Medical School and as the first Director of the Transplantation Biology Research Center at MGH, where he has continued to work until the present.

During his career, Dr. Sachs has trained more than 80 pre-doctoral and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to outstanding careers as transplantation physicians and scientists. He has published over 700 scientific articles. He has served The Transplantation Society in the office of Vice President and as a Councilor for a total of 16 years during his career, and is a member of numerous other societies, including, the AST, the ASTS and the IXA. He was the Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Xenotransplantation from 1994 to 1997 and has been one of the three North American Editors of Transplantation since 1997. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1996 and has received numerous other honors and awards, including the 2012 Starzl Prize, which he shared with his close colleague and friend, Dr. Ben Cosimi.

PRINCIPAL SCIENTIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Induction of transplantation tolerance through mixed chimerism:
Dr. Sachs and his colleagues demonstrated in the late 1980's, that the survival of a small percentage of MHC-mismatched donor cells following bone marrow transplantation was sufficient to induce tolerance without the complications associated with complete marrow replacement. Since the original description of this phenomenon, called "mixed chimerism", in mice, pioneering studies have extended this work to large animals and most recently to clinical applications, including the first successful clinical protocol for the induction of transplantation tolerance across HLA barriers in patients receiving renal transplants.

Discovery of class II antigens:
In 1973, Dr. Sachs was the first to report the serologic detection of cell surface antigens determined by genes in the mouse MHC that were expressed predominantly on B cells and which subsequently became known as class II antigens.

Development of miniature swine as a large animal transplantation model:
More than 40 years ago, Dr. Sachs recognized the need for a large animal model for studies of transplantation and chose miniature swine because of their appropriate size (comparable to humans), physiologic and immunologic similarity to humans, and their breeding characteristics. The latter have made possible the establishment of MHC-homozygous and recombinant lines, making miniature swine the only large animal model in which one can reproducibly study the effects of selective genetic differences within the MHC. In their role as a preclinical animal model, these animals have provided numerous insights for understanding tolerance and histocompatibility.

Xenotransplantation:
Dr. Sachs and his colleagues have utilized modern genetic engineering techniques to develop one inbred subline of miniature swine as an exceptionally appropriate donor for organ xenografts to primates. In addition, they are at the forefront of extending transplantation tolerance induction to this field.

SUMMARY

In a career now spanning more than four decades, Dr. Sachs has worked consistently at the interface between basic science and clinical applications in the field of transplantation. His accomplishments can be measured not only in terms of basic science and clinical achievements, but also in terms of scores of scientists and clinicians who have been inspired by his enthusiasm and devotion.

Richard Allen is currently the Professor of Transplantation Surgery at University of Sydney and surgical director of a multi-organ transplant program. He champions the broader role of transplant surgeons, whilst at the same time challenging trainees and colleagues alike to match and complement the skills of others. To this end, he has been instrumental in Australia in establishing training programs and credentialing guidelines for surgeons.

As a TTS councillor, he became more aware of the needs of transplantation in developing countries, particularly Asia with its great potential for deceased donation. He laments their dependence on living donation that can take advantage of others and obviate the need for deceased donor programs. By understanding the complex mix of local customs and competing priorities, and by providing training opportunities for a wide spectrum transplant professionals, he is demonstrating that it is possible to adapt proven donation strategies to meet the needs of resource-poor countries.

Dr Bušic is working in the Ministry of Health, managing the Institute for Transplantation and Biomedicine, i.e. Competent Authority for Organ, Tissues and Cells.

She was appointed as the National Transplant Coordinator in 2002 to provide senior leadership and coordinated national efforts in development of self-sufficient organ donation and transplantation system in Croatia. Croatia is now one of the world leading countries in deceased organ donation and transplantation per million population.

In 2011 Dr. Bušic was appointed as Director of the Regional Health Development Center on Organ Donation and Transplant Medicine (RHDC Croatia) designated to promote and assist development of deceased organ donation and transplant medicine in the nine South-east European countries. In partnership with international organisations, (TTS, WHO, CoE, ESOT/EDTCO, EC) RHDC Croatia has provided a sustained leadership in implementing concerted actions aimed at the development of successful and self-sufficient organ donation and transplantation programmes in these countries. As a result, significant progress has been achieved in Montenegro (transplant and deceased donor program have been launched), Romania (donor rate doubled), Macedonia (living kidney transplant rate increased) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (establishment of Competent Authority). Efforts are underway in Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania Moldova and Israel (recently joined).

Dr. Medina Pestana is professor of nephrology and the head of the kidney and pancreas transplant program at the Hospital do Rim in São Paulo, where he developed a unique large scale transplant center, performing over 10,000 kidney transplants in the last 15 years.

His transplant activity began 1983, when he organized the renal transplant program initially limited to a once a week procedure, mostly living donors. Although he is a nephrologist, he learned kidney harvesting at the Moffitt Hospital at UCSF, in 1985, under Oscar Salvatierra’s supervision, which enabled him to actively participate in organ recovery surgeries and stimulate the growing of this program in a National system. In 1987 after finishing his PhD he did a clinical fellow training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, followed by one year experimental organ transplant training in the Oxford University, under Prof. Peter Morris’ supervision.

In 1990 he started to increase the renal transplant program at the Hospital do Rim that gradually reached over 800 transplants per year, becoming a major center for training new professionals and for research. Currently 75% of the transplants are done with deceased donor and he has personal restrictions for living unrelated kidney transplants and exchange transplant chains.

Megan Sykes’ research career, during which she has published >400 papers and book chapters, has focused on hematopoietic cell transplantation, organ allograft tolerance induction, xenotransplantation tolerance and Type 1 diabetes. Dr. Sykes has developed novel strategies for achieving graft-versus-tumor effects without graft-versus-host disease following hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). She developed an approach that has been evaluated in clinical trials of non-myeloablative haploidentical HCT whose safety and efficacy allowed trials of HCT for the induction of organ allograft tolerance, allowing intentional achievement of tolerance in humans for the first time. Dr. Sykes has dissected the tolerance mechanisms and pioneered minimal conditioning approaches for using HCT to achieve allograft and xenograft tolerance. Her work on xenogeneic thymic transplantation for tolerance induction has led, for the first time, to long-term kidney xenograft survival in non-human primates. More recently, she has extended the HCT approach to the problem of reversing autoimmunity while replacing destroyed islets of Langerhans in Type 1 diabetes. She has developed novel “humanized mouse” models that allow personalized analysis of human immune disorders and therapies. Dr. Sykes is a Past-President of the International Xenotransplantation Association, served as Vice- President of TTS, has repeatedly served on TTS Council and is a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Kathryn Wood is Professor of Immunology in the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford where she runs the Transplantation Research Immunology Group (TRIG – www.nds.ox.ac.uk/trig). Her research focuses on tolerance induction at the molecular and cellular level, immune regulation and interactions between the immune system and stem cell derived tissues. She is a Fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences and received a Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award for research excellence. Professor Wood’s research achievements have also been recognised internationally, including receiving a Gold Medal awarded by The Catalan Society of Transplantation (2011), The Rose Payne Award from the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (2011), the Excellence in Transplantation Science Award from The Transplantation Society (2012) and the Maharshi Sushruta Award (2012). Professor Wood's professional activities include a broad array of responsibilities both nationally and internationally. She was President of The Transplantation Society (2004-2006) and subsequently founded the Women in Transplantation initiative (WIT – www.tts.org/women) of which she is currently Co-Chair. Professor Wood was Chair of the WTC (2014) Executive Committee.

Curie Ahn, Korean physician, scientist and educator, trained at Seoul National University Hospital and also trained at Cincinnati Medical Centre. She was the first woman to become medical professor in Seoul National University. In addition to considerable clinical responsibilities she is director of an active research laboratory in xenotransplant immunology and has over 90 research publications. As director of the transplant research centre, she helped with others to set up an efficient organ procurement system and facilitated deceased-donor transplantation in Korean society. She has been an outstanding mentor to all her students. Younger Korean women who have followed in her footsteps in Transplantation have benefited from her support, mentorship and encouragement. As well as her considerable academic achievements she has donated a substantial amount of her time to her community. She helped found the Rafael Centre, which is a Korean charity that has set up volunteer-run health clinics for immigrant workers in Korea. She has expanded the work of this charity to improve the healthcare and medical education in neighbouring developing countries such as Myanmar and Mongolia. She helped establish the first chronic dialysis centres in Mongolia and has been instrumental in developing a training program in Transplantation for Mongolian doctors, including sponsoring them for academic exchange visits to Korea for additional specialist training. This has been expanded into a medical exchange with the aim of improving overall medical training in Mongolia.

Jeremy R. Chapman
Editor-in-Chief

The Transplantation Society and the Editor-in-Chief of Transplantation are very pleased to announce the launch of Transplantation Direct in January 2015 to complement our journal, Transplantation. Transplantation Direct will be an online-only, open access publication and is fully supported by The Transplantation Society and the publisher, Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research. Transplantation and Transplantation Direct will directly link to each other and function in concert to provide electronic publication of high-quality basic research and clinical studies related to the field of transplantation. Besides welcoming standard, basic and clinical science articles, the new online journal will encourage the publication of preliminary results of high-interest studies, trial protocols, new methodologies, current research stemming from Sections of The Transplantation Society, and wide-ranging possibilities for publishing registry reports.

We wish to take advantage of the inherent flexibility of electronic publishing, for example, through color presentations, web linkages and connection of different data sources to provide for future development of science communication, education and interactive working groups. The online editor, Edward Geissler, will be combining familiar high standards of peer review with a new submission site to allow for an inclusive, comprehensive, and yet a rigorous approach to presenting significant developments in transplantation. The close connection to our sister journal Transplantation empowers Transplantation Direct to set the aim of having the most rapid turnaround time from submission to publication in the field.

The Transplantation Society, Wolters Kluwer Health Medical Research and the Journal editors are very excited about the new possibilities offered by Transplantation Direct. The submission website will be announced on www.tts.org and www.editorialmanager.com/tpa as soon as it is open for your submission in the upcoming months.

An important role within TTS’ International Headquarters is that of Membership Coordinator as that person has the responsibility to ensure members have access to everything they need from their Society. Our newly appointed Membership Coordinator, Amanda Mayer, can help you navigate through our website and databases, and answer your questions to help you get the most of your membership.

TTS has an online community of over 6400 members from 101 different countries around the globe, all sharing one common goal to improve the science of transplantation. Being a TTS member means that you can tap into that community. In fact, our member directory – accessible by any TTS member – allows you to connect to all other members to help build your network.

Another valuable resource only available to members is free online access to the most cited and influential journal in its field around the world, Transplantation. Transplantation is published twice a month with over 25,000 citations a year. For 40 years, it has been considered as a trusted source for extensive coverage on the most important advances in transplantation. Transplantation is also first in its field to offer CME accreditation to its peer reviewers for completed reviews.

TTS Members can also access over 3750 presentations online through our multimedia library that includes webinar series and recordings from past meetings.

Other important benefits of membership include reduced registration fees at our congresses and meetings, and full members have the right to vote for future TTS Officers and Councilors, and influence future Congress locations.

Should you have any question or need guidance in how best to benefit from your membership, please contact Amanda at TTS International Headquarters via email: membership@tts.org or by phone: 1-514-874-1717 ext 215.

OTHER BENEFITS INCLUDE:

The TTS Educational Library (www.tts.org/education) is an interactive database with over 3750 videos and over 6000 pages of total content including 350 new presentations from the recent World Transplant Congress held in San Francisco.

This interactive database library allows users to find material by refining search criteria (via presenter, author, title, event, region, etc.). Members are able to create their own custom lists using our new bookmarking or flag functions. The new website’s responsive design allows users to enjoy the same level of experience regardless of device (desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone). In addition, members can download videos for offline viewing and even add them to their iTunes library for offline watching on an iPad or iPhone.

A “download presentations slide sets as PDF” function for WTC 2014 Congress presentations has also recently been added.

You are all invited to watch the four-minute video, which will take you through the various steps and functionality of this invaluable resource.

Please feel free to contact us with any comments or suggestions at technologies@tts.org.

The Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) is composed of over 900 individual world-wide clinicians and researchers improving human health through immunology by fostering interdisciplinary approaches to both understand and treat immune-based diseases. A FOCIS individual membership allows you access to a number of highly lauded publications like Translational Immunology Update, a bimonthly electronic publication that aggregates the latest article, clinical trials, and original journal articles from leaders in the translational immunology field. Members also receive free online access to Clinical Immunology, the official journal of FOCIS.

FOCIS members are eligible to receive CME credits through the FOCISed online courses; an exclusive membership benefit. Members of FOCIS receive free abstract submission, reduced registration rates and are eligible to receive annual meeting travel awards. Members will also receive an exclusive invitation to the FOCIS Member Reception and leader meet and greet at FOCIS 2015, July 24-27, 2015 in San Diego, California.

To learn more about FOCIS and the benefits of a FOCIS individual membership, visit: www.focisnet.org

The Women in Transplantation initiative of TTS is pleased to report the success of our most recent networking events. The World Transplant Congress networking event, featuring Sommer Gentry, was our largest and most successful event to date, with more than 230 attendees. The session highlighted the need for women to find opportunities for collaborations and partnerships and strategies for overcoming workplace challenges.

A subsequent event was held in September during the International Transplant Nurses Society Symposium in Houston, Texas. The networking cocktail was the first time WIT and ITNS have co-hosted an event. More than one-third of the Symposium’s participants were in attendance to hear from ITNS Board members Renee Bennett and Christiane Kugler reflect on their international experiences as nurses in the field of transplantation.

Our final networking event of 2014 was on October 23rd during the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Conference. WIT and ASHI had held several outstanding networking events in the past and this event added to our already very successful year.

The Steering Committee of WIT would like to encourage WIT and TTS members who were not able to attend the WIT events that took place during to WTC to view the session recordings that are now available through the TTS multimedia library.

During WTC the WIT Steering Committee had the opportunity to re-visit its strategic goals and priorities and discuss new opportunities for 2015. The WIT Steering Committee will continue to host networking events and promote mentorship through its mentoring program, but we will be announcing new initiatives in the coming months. Please visit www.tts-wit.org for more information.

Greetings fellow ITA and TTS members! Your Council and committees have remained quite active since the Spring Tribune update. We’ve had face-to-face meetings during the WTC in San Francisco, CA in July 2014 and also during the PIFRS meeting in Atlanta, GA in September 2014. We have several major initiatives/issues that are active before the council:

1. 14th ISBTS in Argentina taking place June 10-13, 2015. This meeting is progressing well. The scientific content is being finalized and social planning is well underway. Fundraising is currently ahead of schedule. The Council is pleased with the progress made and will continue to support these efforts. Visit www.isbts2015.org for the announcement of the call for abstracts and the opening of registration.
2. The 15th ISBTS bids were vetted by the ITA Council and a vote was put forth to the ITA membership. The New York City bid put forth jointly by Mount Sinai Medical Center and Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital was the winner. Early planning is already underway for 2017.
3. The 8th International Pediatric Intestinal Failure and Rehabilitation Symposium (PIFRS) was held in September in Atlanta, GA. This meeting was well attended and presented excellent topics and research. The ITA Council endorsed this meeting and ITA members enjoyed a discounted registration as a result.
4. The first ITA Newsletter was recently sent to all members to provide a more in-depth update on our Association. The Education and Regulation Committee has worked hard to get this project off the ground and should be congratulated on their efforts.
5. The Scientific Committee together with the Council and the Intestinal Transplant Registry leadership had the latest ITR Manuscript update accepted for publication in the American Journal of Transplantation.
6. The ITR is moving! After decades of dedicated service and maintenance of the ITR by David Grant through the University of Toronto, the ITR is officially moving. Dr. Grant has requested that the ITA and the Scientific Committee officially assume full control of this important platform for our transplantation endeavors. We are currently exploring options for housing, maintenance, and cost and the Council should have a proposal in place in the coming weeks.
7. Our membership remains robust. The Membership Committee has recently undertaken a review of inactive members and has sent an email update on the ITA membership status and benefits.
8. The Allied Healthcare Committee is currently working on the planning of the Pre-Symposium for the 14th ISBTS. They also have an open call for nominations for the biennial AHP Award. Please visit the website for details and to nominate your outstanding AHP.

Last, as we approach the final quarter of 2014, the Council wishes to thank you all for your dedication and membership to our Association. It is your commitment to our fields of intestinal failure, rehabilitation, and transplantation that keeps our Council actively working for the advancement of our Association.

The priority of the current TID Council is to broaden the reach of the Society, increasing the benefits of membership, creating opportunities for those working in the field to further improve their knowledge and assisting them in their day-to-day work. In this direction, every Council member has been allocated different tasks, each with their own goals and initiatives. The tasks include attracting new members, communications and outreach, research and science, trainee and young physician education in the field of ID and TID, advocacy and revenue development.

The Council has developed an email-based Comment Board called TIDChat. After a test period the chat room discussion recently opened to TID and TTS members and their colleagues worldwide to seek help with clinical conundrums, undertake formal and informal surveys, advertise jobs, notify the membership about relevant upcoming conferences, develop working groups and more! TID is also happy to announce the next series of TID webinars, which will cover topics such as: PK/PD of antimicrobial agents and antimicrobial stewardship in transplant patients.

TID played a major role in the pre-Congress Infectious Diseases workshop at the 2014 World Transplant Congress (WTC) in San Francisco, California, USA. The WTC meeting was extremely well attended with over 6,000 attendees. Thank you to those speakers that gave excellent presentations and contributed to making this event an outstanding success.

TID is pleased to announce the 2015 TID Annual Conference will take place in partnership with the Sociedad de Trasplante de America Latina y El Caribe (STALYC). It will be held on October 13, 2015 in Cancun, Mexico prior to the STALYC meeting. The Council of TID and the organizing committee look forward to sharing more information about the meeting in the coming months.

The financial position of TID is sound; for the third consecutive year we have revenue growth from membership dues, journal subscription and annual TID meetings. However we will face a number of financial challenges in the near future and we need to continue to improve our finances, and look for other financial supports to maintain our Society.

Lastly, the TID Council would like to encourage their membership to stay in touch with the Society, and share your feedback, comments and suggestions. We ask that each member encourage any colleague with an interest in transplant infectious diseases to take part in the work of TID, and most importantly become an active participant on TIDChat!

Melbourne, Downunder (aka Australia) is the host city for the 2015 Joint Congress of IPITA, IXA and CTS. Melbourne has a rich scientific record in immunology, transplantation, and stem cell research – as well as being a great place to visit in springtime. Melbourne is known for its arts and cultural events, its fine cafes and restaurants based on generations of immigration, its famous sporting events and its proximity to great natural beauty. The three Societies are working hard to produce an outstanding program that will be of interest to all from practicing transplant surgeons to basic biologists. There will be shared sessions where the Societies will meet together as well as individual sessions of the different groups. The Congress, which will be held in Melbourne’s new Convention Centre in the Docklands area, will follow on immediately after the Transplantation Sciences Symposium in Lorne, Australia. All of the team now working hard on putting the Congress together looks forward to giving you a warm Aussie welcome in November 2015.

To consolidate its position as the leading global organization, the Council has representation from all six regions of the world: North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Oceania, and Asia.

Tribune is published three times per year by The Transplantation Society (TTS).