By Isabella Hornick
By Lisa Anderson, PhD
In the transplantation world, technology has played a major role in advancing the way donor organs are transported and preserved.
One advancement in lung transplant preservation that recently received FDA 510(k) clearance is the BAROguard system (Paragonix Technologies), which is designed to keep lungs at optimal temperatures and inflation pressures during transport, according to a press release. Read the full story in Healio.
By Mina Kim
Every day in hospitals around the country, while one family is grieving the loss of a family member, another family is given news that will offer them hope: that a possible organ donor match has been made. In California alone, more than 20,000 people remain on the waitlist for a kidney, liver, or other organ. We’ll talk about how organ donation works and hear about a new law that aims to modernize the current system. And we’ll hear from you: have you or a family member received – or donated – an organ?
Guests:
Lenny Bernstein, health and medicine reporter, The Washington Post
Michael Pasco, liver transplant recipient
Kris Netherton, heart and kidney transplant recipient
Dr. Harish Mahanty M.D., surgical director of transplantation, Sutter Health
Listen to the interview on KQED Radio.
A message from Dianne LaPointe Rudow, President, UNOS Board of Directors
By Dianne LaPointe Rudow, ANP-BC, DNP, FAAN, President, UNOS Board of Directors
I’m a nurse practitioner by training, and I’ve spent countless hours with patients—both those waiting for a transplant and those who’ve just received one. I’ve seen firsthand the highs and lows, both physical and mental, that patients, living donors, loved ones, and family members of generous deceased donors go through, and one thing remains clear: Patients like you are at the center of the U.S. organ donation and transplant system, and it is up to us in the transplant community to engage with you and learn more from your experiences. Read the complete article from UNOS here.
Advances are increasing the supply of organs. But this isn’t enough. Enter the genetically modified donor pig
By Tanya Lewis
Robert Montgomery walked deliberately down the hospital hallway carrying a stainless-steel bowl containing a living human kidney resting on a bed of ice. Minutes earlier the organ had been in one man’s body. It was about to be implanted into another man to keep him alive.
It was about 11 A.M. on a Monday this past spring. I followed Montgomery, an abdominal transplant surgeon and director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, into an operating room where 49-year-old John Primavera was waiting to receive the precious kidney.
Read the full article in Scientific American.
PITTSBURGH — Giving living donor liver transplant recipients an infusion of immune cells derived from their donor a week before transplantation is feasible, safe — and may lead to recipients being successfully weaned off immunosuppressant medications without rejecting the transplanted organ.
The early-stage clinical trial results by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists, reported today in Science Translational Medicine, point to a path that may spare organ transplant recipients from the serious side effects of long-term immunosuppressant use, which can include cancer, diabetes, kidney failure and susceptibility to infections. Read more from UPMC.
Written By UChicago Medicine organ transplant team
The University of Chicago Medicine organ transplant program has experts in heart, kidney, liver, lung, multi-organ, and pancreas and islet transplantations. We know choosing the right transplant center can be a challenge and want our patients to feel comfort and confidence that the center they choose will meet their specific needs. Below, our organ transplant team answers questions many prospective patients face on their journey to finding the best place for a transplant, including information specific to UChicago Medicine.
Read more here.
By Shawn M. Carter
President Joe Biden signed the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement Transplantation Network Act into law, according to a statement from the National Kidney Foundation.
“Make no mistake, reforms to the governance of the [Organ Procurement Transplantation Network (OPTN)] will save lives, strengthen accountability and increase transparency,” Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation, said in a statement.
Read the full article in Healio.
By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) — A new study in non-human primates shows potential for using a manmade monoclonal antibody to help prevent organ rejection after a transplant.
The antibody was successful in promoting graft survival after kidney and pancreatic islet cell transplantations, according to the research.
This clears a path for this new monoclonal antibody to move forward in human clinical trials, the researchers said. Read more in U.S. News & World Report.
Three studies examine offer acceptance practices and the impact of the Offer Filters tool
Beginning in 2017, Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) policies have been modified to eliminate Donor Service Area (DSA or the area served by a specific Organ Procurement Organization) from allocation policies for all organs. While monitoring reports indicate that these policy changes are achieving the goal of getting the most medically urgent patients transplanted sooner, another result is that, on average, transplant centers have experienced an increase in the number of offers received.
Two recent studies from UNOS researchers analyzed offer acceptance practices, while a third looked at the impact of the Offer Filters tool on transplant program offer volume and overall kidney non-use rates. Read the entire article from UNOS.
By Ask the Doctors
Hello, dear readers, and welcome to a bonus edition of our monthly letters column. Our mailboxes are overflowing, so we’ll get right down to business.
— We recently wrote about living organ donation. That’s when a living person gives an organ, such as a kidney, or part of an organ, such as the liver, to another individual. The column led to a question from a reader in Pennsylvania: “Is there a minimum GFR to become a kidney donor?” she asked. “I recently filled out a registry form for a specific patient but forgot to ask about this.” Read the full story from UCLA Health.