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Our Organ Transplant System Isn’t the Failure It’s Made Out to Be

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— Upholding the system will save lives

by Peter G. Stock, MD, PhD, Nancy L. Ascher, MD, PhD, and John P. Roberts, MD 

Thanks to a robust network of hospitals, nonprofit organizations, and government support, the U.S. remains a leader in organ transplantation. This community, which is managed by United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), saves tens of thousands of lives every year. Despite this success, opponents of UNOS are advocating to dismantle the transplant system as we know it. Read the full article in MedPage Today.

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Does New Heart Transplant Method Challenge Definition of Death?

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By Sue Hughes
The relatively recent innovation of heart transplantation after circulatory death of the donor is increasing the number of donor hearts available and leading to many more lives on the heart transplant waiting list being saved. Experts agree it’s a major and very welcome advance in medicine.

However, some of the processes involved in one approach to donation after circulatory death has raised ethical concerns and questions about whether they violate the “dead donor rule” — a principle that requires patients be declared dead before removal of life-sustaining organs for transplant.
Read the full article in Medscape.

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Lack of standardized labels for marijuana products can lead to poor kidney outcomes

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By Julie S. Keenan
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Lack of standardized labels for marijuana products in the United States can lead to poor kidney outcomes, according to a presenter at the Southwest Nephrology Conference.

Laura Wicks, PharmD, BCPS, an acute care clinical pharmacy specialist from Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, detailed the current legality of marijuana, the impact the drug can have on patients and what can be done about the lack of standardized labels on marijuana products. Read more in Healio.

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Looking for a Living Donor

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If you need a kidney transplant, you must first be evaluated for a transplant by a transplant center (a hospital that does transplants – not every hospital does them). The evaluation is used to make sure you’re a good candidate for a transplant. This must happen before any potential living donors can be considered.  Learn more from the National Kidney Foundation.

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Women who adhere to Mediterranean diet have 24% lower CVD risk

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By Emma Bascom
Women with greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet had a significantly reduced risk for CVD and total mortality, according to the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Heart.

Anushriya Pant, a PhD candidate at Westmead Applied Research Centre in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues wrote that “dietary modification is a cornerstone of CVD prevention.”
Read the full story in Healio.

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CareDx Presents Latest Advancements at 12th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association

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MARCH, 23, 2023

CareDx to Host Symposium Featuring the Latest Developments in Pediatric Transplant Care

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 its gold-level sponsorship and participation at the 12th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA) taking place March 25-28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Read the complete press release on CareDx.com.

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U.S. Organ Transplant System, Troubled by Long Wait Times, Faces an Overhaul

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The Biden administration announced a plan to modernize how patients are matched to organs, seeking to shorten wait times, address racial inequities and reduce deaths.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would seek to break up the network that has long run the nation’s organ transplant system, as part of a broader modernization effort intended to shorten wait times, address racial inequities and reduce the number of patients who die while waiting.

More than 100,000 people in the United States are awaiting organ transplants in a system that has long been defined by an imbalance between supply and demand. Read the full story in The New York Times.

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CMS prior authorization proposal is ‘a good start’ but may not go far enough

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By Andrew Rhoades
The AMA and 118 other leading medical societies recently announced that they have united in support of CMS’ prior authorization reform proposal.

The proposal would require certain payers to implement an electronic prior authorization process by 2026, while also needing to shorten the time frame in which they send responses. Read the full article in Healio.

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