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CareDx Acquires MediGO, an Organ Transplant Supply Chain and Logistics Company

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JULY, 25, 2023

MediGO Platform Aims to Improve Access to Donated Organs and Shorten Transplant Wait Times

Acquisition Expands CareDx Digital Health Portfolio and Establishes Footprint in OPO Market

BRISBANE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– CareDx, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNA), a leading precision medicine company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value healthcare solutions for transplant patients and caregivers — today announced the acquisition of MediGO, Inc. in a strategic move to expand its digital health portfolio to serve the organ procurement organization (OPO) market while also bolstering its pre-transplant offerings aimed at shortening transplant wait times and increasing access to donated organs. Read the complete press release on CareDx.com.

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Experts Demand Overhaul of Organ Transplant System During Senate Hearing

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— Patient representative has “zero confidence” in change if UNOS remains involved

By Shannon Firth

Patients, advocates, and one rogue organ procurement organization (OPO) executive, among others, pledged support for legislation that aims to disrupt a decades-long monopoly over the U.S. transplant system during a hearing opens in a new tab or window of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care on Thursday.

“Every day 17 people die while on organ transplant waiting lists and another 13 are removed from the waiting list because they’ve become too sick to receive a transplant,” said Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.). Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Black, Hispanic Liver Disease Patients Face Transplant Disparities, Study Says

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By Matthew Griffin

(Bloomberg) — Black and Hispanic patients with a serious liver-scarring condition are less likely to receive transplants than their White peers in the US, according to researchers arguing for greater equity in providing the life-saving procedure.

Even after improvements from 2009 to 2018, Black people hospitalized for the liver ailment, cirrhosis, were only about two-thirds as likely to get transplants as White patients, according to the analysis of a national database of hospital stays. Read more in BNN Bloomberg.

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12-year-old kidney transplant recipient goes to ‘medical school’ through Make-A-Wish Illinois

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By Karen Jordan

CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s the first day of medical school for Melanie Romo, a 12-year old girl shadowing a nurse at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

First up for Melanie was evaluating Bella, who volunteered to act as a patient with gall stones.

This is the experience Melanie was hoping for. She was once a patient at Lurie, diagnosed two years ago with chronic kidney disease and in need of a transplant. Read and watch the full story from ABC 7 Chicago.

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Man remains in treatment-free HIV remission after stem cell transplant

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By Gerard Gallagher

A man has remained in treatment-free HIV remission for nearly 2 years after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, researchers reported Wednesday.

It is the latest example of a person who has potentially been cured of HIV after receiving someone else’s stem cells — although this case comes with a twist. Read the full article in Healio.

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Study sheds light on cellular interactions that lead to liver transplant survival

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A new study identifies how certain proteins in the immune system interact leading to organ rejection. The study, which involved experiments on mice and human patients, uncovered an important communication pathway between two molecules called CEACAM1 (CC1) and TIM-3, finding that the pathway plays a crucial role in controlling the body’s immune response during liver transplantation. Read the full article from UCLA Health.

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The story behind those T ads looking for a kidney

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Paul Savuto saved his wife’s life once before. Now, he’s hoping a stranger can save it again.

By Chloe Courtney Bohl

Observant commuters may have noticed an ad with an unusual call to action on the T this month. The orange posters feature a photo of a smiling couple and read, “My wife, Deb, needs a new kidney.” A Lexington man, Paul Savuto, has turned to the patrons of the MBTA in his quest to find an organ donor who can save his wife’s life.
Read the full story in Boston.com.

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Despite narrowing the gap, racial disparities persist in liver transplantation, mortality

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By Kate Burba

Disparities in receipt of liver transplantation and mortality persisted over time among hospitalized Black and Hispanic patients with decompensated cirrhosis compared with their white counterparts, according to data inJAMA Network Open.

“There had been no characterization of disparities in receipt of inpatient procedures for cirrhosis in over a decade,” Lauren D. Nephew, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of gastroenterology and hepatology and associate vice chair of health equity at Indiana University School of Medicine, told Healio. Read the full article in Healio.

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Vote calls for a work group to consider whether organs transported via commercial flight could once again travel safely in a plane’s cabin

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The U.S. House of Representatives has approved, as part of its 2023 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, a provision aimed at enhancing efficiencies of the transportation of donor organs through the nation’s commercial aviation system.

Section 834 of H.R. 3934, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, requires the Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT), in consultation with the FAA Administrator, to convene a working group to develop best practices for the transportation of an organ in the cabin of an aircraft.
Read the complete press release from UNOS.

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Intermountain’s heart transplant team celebrates 600th transplant

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By Emily Ashcraft, KSL.com

MURRAY — Jessica Leon received her “miracle” on April 27, and she expressed gratitude Tuesday for her “hero donor” who allowed her to continue raising her two daughters.

Leon said she can’t imagine the pain the heart donor’s family went through, but she said with their “merciful decision, they prevented my daughters (from going) through the same type of loss.” Read the full story on KSL.com.

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