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Monopoly Be Gone: A New Chapter in U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation

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— A recent announcement from HHS has the power to transform our deeply flawed system

by Greg Segal, Jennifer Erickson, MS, Donna Cryer, JD, and Bryan Sivak 

The U.S. government recently made a transformative announcement: it is breaking up the flawed monopoly that manages the current organ procurement system, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

This commonsense reform marks an unequivocal win for patients, and has been heralded by patient groupsopens in a new tab or window, equity leadersopens in a new tab or window, and bipartisanopens in a new tab or window Congressional officesopens in a new tab or window alike. Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Plant-based low-carb diet linked to lower mortality risk in type 2 diabetes

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By Michael Monostra
Low-carbohydrate diets centered on macronutrients from whole grains, fruit and vegetables are associated with a lower mortality risk for people with type 2 diabetes, according to study data.

“It is well established that maintaining a higher diet quality is important for human health,” Yang Hu, ScD, research associate in the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Healio. Read the full story in Healio.

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Longtime VCU coworkers forever linked by living donor kidney transplant

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Compassionate colleagues highlight the importance of living organ donations

By Sean Gorman
During the month of April, VCU Health News will be publishing a series of stories to mark National Donate Life Month, a national effort to spread awareness about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donations. 
 
Jay Gould’s kidney disease had been slowly progressing for 30 years and he knew there was a possibility of needing to undergo a transplant one day.
 
That time finally arrived in 2022 as his declining kidney health put him in danger of having to start dialysis unless he received an organ transplant. His nephrologist, Todd W. Gehr, M.D., told Gould that the time for a new kidney was approaching.
Read the story from VCU Health News Center.

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Physical activity may offset short sleep duration increase in CVD mortality

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By Kate Young
Physical activity may offset the increased CVD mortality that is associated with unusual sleep duration, according to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

“To our knowledge, the present study was the first to use accelerometry to document the joint association of physical activity and sleep duration with all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality,” Yannis Yan Liang, MD, PhD, of the Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital and Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences in Guangdong, China, and colleagues wrote. Read more in Healio.

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Liver Transplants for CRC Metastases: Coming Into Its Own?

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By Roxanne Nelson, RN, BSN

Liver transplant is an effective therapy for patients with primary liver cancer, and outcomes after transplantation are often superior to surgical resection. But the pool of potential patients is increasing, as transplantation is now emerging as an attractive option for select patients with nonresectable colorectal cancer (CRC) liver metastases, as well as those with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA).

Experts in the field highlighted some of the current challenges and opportunities in transplant oncology during a special session at the 2023 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.
Read more in Medscape.

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Bringing racial equity to kidney transplant evaluation

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By Ryn Thorn
African Americans are more than three times as likely to have kidney failure than Whites but four times less likely to have received a kidney transplant by one year after developing kidney failure. Researchers from the Department of Surgery at MUSC are attempting to address this inequity.

Kidney transplant surgeon Derek DuBay, M.D., and director of clinical trials David Taber, Pharm.D., developed an initiative to help to address kidney transplant disparities affecting African Americans. Read more from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

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Physician describes three advances leading to more lifesaving organ transplants

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By Heather Carlson Kehren, Mayo Clinic
All too often, people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants cannot get them. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of viable donated organs. Promising medical advances are opening the doors to more transplants and saving more lives, says Mauricio Villavicencio, M.D., surgical director of heart and lung transplantation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

There are 104,000 people on the waiting list in the U.S. for a transplant. An estimated 17 people die on the waiting list die every day, according to Donate Life America. Read more in Medical Xpress.

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Smaller liver transplant candidates wait up to 55 days longer than other recipients

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By Kate Burba
Liver transplant candidates with a small stature experienced longer waitlist times and had lower rates of transplant, with the smallest 25% of candidates most affected, according to study results in JAMA Surgery.

“As a liver transplant surgeon, I had noticed that small candidates on the waitlist seem to wait longer to get a liver transplant, even if they are at the top of the list,” Catherine E. Kling, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the division of transplant surgery and program director for the Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship at the University of Washington, told Healio. 
Read more in Healio.

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One kidney donor responsible for four transplant candidates receiving a new organ

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By Liam Connolly

Donors and recipients in eight-way kidney transplant meet for first time

(SACRAMENTO)

As we mark National Donate Life Month this April, UC Davis Transplant Center held a celebration and first-time meeting for donors and recipients who participated in an eight-way ‘chain’ kidney transplant at UC Davis Medical Center. Read more from UC Davis Health.

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