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9 Tips to Help Navigate Open Enrollment for Transplant Patients

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When the time comes each year for open enrollment, transplant patients face a unique set of considerations. The process, which can already be overwhelming for the average individual, takes on added significance for those who have undergone or are waiting for a transplant. As a caregiver or patient, it’s essential to understand how to navigate this period effectively. Here are 9 tips to help navigate open enrollment with transplant needs in mind.
Read the complete article on CareDx.com.

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Join the fight for continued access to non-invasive testing!

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What is going on?

Medicare coverage for post-transplant tests, such as CareDx’s AlloMap and AlloSure, is being reviewed. The transplant community now has the opportunity to share comments and letters on the importance of these tests and how restricting access to these tests could negatively impact patients and their post-transplant health.

Why does this matter to you?

AlloMap and AlloSure help detect issues, such as rejection, with transplants earlier than traditional testing, while also helping patients avoid invasive procedures like biopsies. These tests have been trusted by the transplant community for over 15 years for heart transplant recipients, over 5 years in kidney transplant recipients, and over 2 years in lung transplant recipients.

New proposed coverage for these tests is more restrictive. If these new restrictions are put in place, it could limit access to these important tests. This could prevent your care team from being able to order these blood tests to check on how your transplant is doing when they think it is needed.

How can you help?

The patient voice is powerful and deserves to be heard on this important issue! From now until September 23, 2023, you can send a comment or letter to the groups making these decisions, voicing your perspective on the importance of these tests and need for continued access. 

While doing so in your own words is best, we have created the below prompts to help. To start your letter, select at least one of the prompts below that feels best for you and answer it in your own words. Be sure to include what kind of transplant you have had, a little bit about your own transplant story, and how non-invasive tests like AlloSure or AlloMap have impacted your post-transplant care.

Click here to learn more and start your letter!

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Join the fight for patient rights!

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You may already be aware of a recent Medicare change that limits coverage for non-invasive transplant blood tests such as AlloSure and AlloMap which could put patients at risk.

A patient-focused coalition, Honor the Gift, has created a way for you to get involved to protect patient access to care by sending a letter directly to your congressman voicing your concern. Honor the Gift is dedicated to advocating for greater access and coverage for the care and services that help to ensure the long-term health of transplant patients. 

Help make sure every transplant patient continues to receive the critical innovations they deserve.

Click on the link below to learn more about Honor the Gift and to write your member of Congress today.

Act now—the voices of transplant patients can make a difference!

Click here to send your congressman a letter now.

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Opinion: Seven years after getting a heart transplant, I competed in the Transplant Games

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The games are really not about medals. They are about finding your tribe as a transplant recipient or living donor.

Calvet, Ph.D., is the CEO of Blue Tiger, vice president of Team Southern California on the Transplant Games of America board and author of “My Life in Stitches — Everything You Wanted to Know About Transplant But Were Afraid to Ask,” coming out in 2023. She lives in San Diego.

When Jeff Traegeser, interim president of the San Diego nonprofit Lifesharing, stood before the Transplant Games of America crowd during the opening ceremony at the San Diego Convention Center on July 29, he eloquently shared his thoughts. Read more in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

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Living donor transplantation offers a safe alternative for liver transplant patients

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Living donor liver transplants can reduce waitlist time and deaths according to a new study published in the Journal of Hepatology

Newswise — Amsterdam, September 26, 2022 – Demand for donor livers for transplant patients outstrips supply with over 15% of waitlist patients dying after a year. A new international study offers support for increasing the use of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in Western countries and reducing the imbalance between organ supply and demand. This study is reported in the Journal of Hepatology, the official journal of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, published by Elsevier.
Read more in Newswise.

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2022 Donate Life Transplant Games of America in San Diego, CA

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CareDx recently had the honor of being the Presenting Sponsor of the 2022 Transplant Games of America in sunny San Diego. Every two years the Transplant Games brings together thousands of members of the transplant community, from transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, to individuals on the wait list, caregivers, and transplant professionals, to partake in an Olympic style event for the world’s largest celebration and testimony to the gift of life.  Check out the recap story on CareDx.com.

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CareDx launches AlloHome, medication management feature on AlloCare app

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CareDx Inc. announced the launch of AlloHome, a pan-organ patient monitoring tool located on the AlloCare app that can capture health data from the comfort of a patient’s home, according to a press release.

Patients who use AlloHome receive Bluetooth devices, including a glucose monitor and a blood pressure cuff, that automatically pair with a smart hub in the house. Data also pair with the patient’s AlloCare app. Read the full story in Healio.

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The Kidney Transplant Waitlist – What You Need to Know

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Is transplant the best option for patients with kidney disease?

For the majority of patients, transplantation is the best option. Kidney transplant is not a cure for kidney disease, but it can help you live longer and with a better quality of life. Kidney transplants come from either living organ donors, or deceased organ donors. A live donor kidney transplant is considered the best option for people with kidney disease. Transplant is not an option for everyone. Speak with your healthcare team to decide if transplant is an option for you. Read more from the National Kidney Foundation.

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Post-Transplant Nutrition: Protein, Fluids, Potassium, and Food Safety

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Diet is one of many challenges that patients face post-transplant – the combination of requirements and restrictions can be difficult to navigate. To help, CareDx partnered with Molly Chanzis, a Registered Dietitian at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center specializing in medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling specifically for transplant patients.

We hosted a webinar with Molly focused on diet and nutrition post-transplant; this article has been adapted from Molly’s presentation. Read the full article here.

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