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New kidney transplant approach could eliminate need for lifelong immune drugs

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“These kidneys are going to last forever,” one researcher said.

Three children who have undergone kidney transplants in California will likely be spared from ever having to take anti-rejection medication, because of an innovative technique that eliminates the need for lifelong immunosuppression, ground-breaking new research suggests.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine detailed the cases Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. All three children have an extremely rare genetic disease called Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia, or SIOD, that often destroys a person’s ability to fight off infection and leads to kidney failure. In each case, a parent donated stem cells taken from bone marrow, as well as a kidney. Read the full story from NBC News.

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A Kidney Transplant Could Be the Key to a Healthier, Longer, More Fulfilling Life

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Kidneys act as blood filters for the human body. Normally, kidneys filter approximately half a cup of blood every minute. During the filtration process, the kidneys remove wastes and extra water, resulting in urine. Sometimes, because of certain underlying kidney diseases, they fail to filter the blood correctly. This can lead to kidney failure. Read the full article from CBS Miami.

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Extending Eligibility of Reinstatement of Waiting Time after Allograft Failure

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The optimal treatment for kidney failure is kidney transplantation. The shortage of kidneys available for transplantation is intensifying, creating interest in the high proportion of deceased donor kidneys discarded after procurement. The discard rate for deceased donor kidneys recovered for transplant in the United States is approximately one in five, despite evidence that transplantation with even marginal deceased donor kidneys can improve survival, quality of life, and cost, compared with dialysis. Read the full story in Nephrology Times.

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Racial disparities strongest among young adults on home dialysis, transplant recipients

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Racial and ethnic disparities in kidney replacement therapies were most pronounced among patients aged 22 to 44 years who are either transplant recipients or on home dialysis, according to data in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

“Research has shown wide racial and ethnic disparities in use of kidney transplant and home dialysis, yet how age interacts with these disparities is unknown,” Adam S. Wilk, PhD, and colleagues wrote. Read more in Healio.

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Transplantation within 7 days of listing boosts survival in acute-on-chronic liver failure

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LONDON — Early liver transplantation within 7 days of listing was linked to improved 90-day and 1-year survival among patients with grade 3 acute-on-chronic liver failure, according to data presented at the International Liver Congress.

“Currently, the ideal time frame between listing and liver transplantation to achieve optimal patient outcome in [grade 3 acute-on-chronic liver failure] is not known,” Joseph J. Alukal, MD, of Platinum Hospitalists and Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center in Nevada, told Healio. Read more in Healio.

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For some desperate COVID patients, lung transplants are the best chance at survival

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Dennis Franklin thought he had come down with a cold when he was vacationing with his wife in Holden, Mo., in June 2021. Too tired to do anything, he cut the trip short.

Once home in St. Charles, Mo., he went to an urgent care center and was diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia. Two days later, on his wedding anniversary, he didn’t wake up. When his wife, Julia, tried to rouse him, she realized he was barely breathing. She frantically called 911 and an ambulance rushed him to the local hospital. Read the full story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here.

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OPTN Board of Directors expected to require transplant hospitals to use race-neutral calculations in assessing patients

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Key points:
-OPTN Board to take up recommendation June 27

-If approved, implementation may occur within 30 days

-Transplant programs and labs should be aware of the pending action and consider options for transition

At its next in-person meeting, the Board of Directors of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) will consider a proposal to require transplant hospitals to use race-neutral calculations  when estimating a patient’s glomerular filtration rates (GFR). This proposed change aims to reduce health disparities and address inequities for Black kidney candidates by more accurately estimating their GFR values. The board will next meet in Richmond, Va., June 26-27, 2022. Read more from UNOS.

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You Need an Organ Transplant: 10 Pieces of Advice from Those Who Have Gone Through It

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You just found out you need an organ transplant. Whether it’s a heart, kidney, liver or lung, there are some key fundamentals to keep in mind as you navigate your transplant journey. Who better to share advice than those who have been through it?

Below are words of advice transplant recipients shared on Facebook and Instagram from their experiences during their transplant journeys. Read the full story on CareDx.com here.

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New GW Liver Transplantation Program Performs Inaugural, Multi-Organ Transplant

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The GW Transplant Institute is the newest facility in the District to offer liver transplants.

The George Washington University Transplant Institute’s Liver Transplantation Program and surgeons Stephen Gray and Lynt Johnson recently completed the institute’s first liver transplant.

For the inaugural transplant, the surgical team was faced with a multi-organ procedure, replacing both the patient’s liver and kidney. Read the full story in GW Today.

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