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OPTN Board approves measures to improve kidney offer acceptance process

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Richmond, Va., – The Board of Directors of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, at its meeting June 26, unanimously approved measures intended to improve the process kidney transplant programs use to consider available organ offers. By making better usage of offer filters, kidney offers may be made more efficiently to programs that are most likely to accept such offers for their candidates.

“Every transplant program is responsible for deciding which characteristics of donor organs are acceptable for their transplant candidates,” said Jerry McCauley, M.D., M.P.H., president of the board. Read the full article from UNOS here.

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‘I gave my heart to a museum’

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By Ellen Kenny

One young woman got a second chance at life following a heart transplant – and then a chance to be immortalised when she gave her old heart to a museum. 

In 2006, Jennifer Sutton was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, a disease that stiffens some of the heart’s chambers, preventing blood from pumping around the body. Read the full article in Newstalk.

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Transplant Outcomes and Usage Patterns in Adult Recipients of Deceased Donor Kidneys with COVID-19

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The following is a summary of “Patterns in Use and Transplant Outcomes Among Adult Recipients of Kidneys From Deceased Donors With COVID-19,” published in the May 2023 issue of Nephrology by Ji et al. 

For a study, researchers aimed to determine the kidney utilization patterns and transplant outcomes in adult recipients of deceased donor kidneys with active or resolved COVID-19. This study analyzed the information from 35,851 deceased donors (71,334 kidneys) and 45,912 adult patients who underwent kidney transplantation between March 1, 2020, and March 30, 2023. Read the complete article in Physician’s Weekly.

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Race-Neutral Testing Could Reduce Bias in Lung Transplant Allocation, Study Suggests

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By Rose McNulty

Interpreting spirometry with race-specific reference equations led to a lower Lung Allocation Score (LAS) for Black patients and higher LAS among White patients, which could potentially contribute to racially biased allocation of lung transplants.

Interpreting spirometry with race-specific reference equations led to a lower Lung Allocation Score (LAS) for Black patients and higher LAS among White patients,1 which could potentially contribute to racially biased allocation of lung transplants, according to new research published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Read the full article in AJMC.

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How Common is Cancer in Organ Transplant Recipients?

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As an organ transplant recipient, you already “know” several things:

  • You know what the anxiety and stress of end-stage organ disease feels like
  • You know that your life has been improved after receiving your transplant
  • You know that by taking care of your transplant, you can reduce the risk of rejection of the organ

Did you also know that the important immunosuppressants (anti-rejection medications) you take to prevent your body from rejecting your transplanted kidney, heart, lung, or liver may increase your risk of developing certain types of
cancer?1 Read the complete article on CareDx.com.

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Men share unbreakable bond: Kidney transplant brings strangers together

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By Doug Evans

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. – FOX 5 brought together two local men whose lives were changed forever by a kidney transplant back in February. FOX 5 first reported on McIntosh High School athletic director Leon Hammond’s need for a donated kidney last November and U.S. Secret Service agent Alan Reeves who gave him that gift of life. It’s now three months since the transplant surgery. Read or watch the full story from Fox 5 Atlanta.

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Texas Children’s Receives 2023 Outstanding Heart Failure Care Team Award From Heart Failure Society of America

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HOUSTON (JUNE 28, 2023) – The Texas Children’s Hospital Heart Failure Team has been named the 2023 Outstanding Heart Failure Care Team award winner by the Heart Failure Society of America. The team will be formally recognized at an award ceremony in Cleveland, OH later this year.

The Heart Failure Team is part of Texas Children’s Heart Center, recently ranked #1 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery for the seventh consecutive year. The team is uniquely suited to care for the most complex cardiac patients from infancy to adulthood with its world-class expertise in fetal and neonatal cardiology, congenital heart surgery, cardiac intensive care, and adult congenital heart disease. Read the full article from Texas Children’s Hospital.

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What are the Common Lab Tests That Patients Receive After Heart Transplant?

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As a heart transplant recipient, you’ll quickly find yourself being asked to take a laundry list of blood tests. While this can be inconvenient and frustrating, it’s also really important. Your doctor can’t tell what’s going on with your new heart by looking at you. Blood tests provide information on how well your heart is functioning and how your medications may be affecting your body. By reviewing the results, your physician may adjust medications, recommend changes to your diet or fluid intake, or recognize the need for additional examination.
Read the full article on CareDx.com.

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UCD researcher receives ERC Consolidator grant to unlock computational insights into cardiac xenotransplantation

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Reviewed by Megan Craig, M.Sc.

Dr Philip Cardiff, Associate Professor at University College Dublin’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, has received a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant of €2 million for his 5-year project XenoSim. With the support of this award, Dr Cardiff will develop advanced computational techniques that can provide unprecedented insights into the cutting-edge realm of pig-to-human heart transplants

ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to help excellent scientists, who have 7-12 years’ experience after their PhDs, to pursue their most promising ideas. Read the full article from News Medical Life Sciences.

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Lung Transplant Brings Two Families Together

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Two families, that were separated by distance, but became united as one. Frencesca Greco-Magee was in need of new lungs after she was born with pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that covered her lungs with holes. After being put on double waitlists at two separate hospitals, she moved down to Duke to improve her chances after more than 2 years of failed transplants. Then five days after moving, her prayers were answered and her new lungs came with a new family from Maryville, Tennessee, who just lost their son Bradley. She penned a thank you letter to Bradley’s family and started a connection they all hope will last a lifetime. Watch the full story from WATE-TV 6 News.

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