“Adults with type 2 diabetes and end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis benefitted from an artificial pancreas in a small, randomized crossover trial.
Patients using a fully automated closed loop system spent a longer amount of time in target glucose range versus those using standard insulin therapy (52.8% vs 37.7%, respectively, P<0.001), reported Charlotte Boughton, MD, PhD, of University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories in England, and colleagues.”
Read more, here.
“UNOS has implemented a new system for matching kidney and pancreas transplant candidates with organs from deceased donors.
The new approach is projected to increase equity in transplant access for candidates nationwide. It replaces distribution based on donation service area (DSA) and OPTN region with a more consistent measure of distance between the donor hospital and the transplant hospital for each candidate. This will further ensure the right organ gets to the right patient at the right time based on medical need rather than geography.
The policy was developed over nearly three years by organ donation and transplant experts, organ recipients and donor families from around the country, and input from thousands of people during three public comment cycles.
Kidney and pancreas offers will be offered first to candidates listed at transplant hospitals within 250 nautical miles of the donor hospital. Offers not accepted for any of these candidates will then be made for candidates beyond the 250 nautical mile distance.
Candidates also will receive proximity points based on the distance between their transplant program and the donor hospital. Proximity points are intended to improve the efficiency of organ placement by adding priority for candidates closer to the donor hospital. Candidates within the initial 250 nautical mile radius will receive a maximum of two proximity points, while those outside the initial circle will receive a maximum of four proximity points. The point assignment will be highest for those closest to the donor hospital and will decrease as the distance increases.”
Read all about the new policy, here.
“Two years ago, a 9-year-old Baltimore gymnast named Khloe Cox was rising through the competitive ranks, winning awards and following in the footsteps of her hero: Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles.
But all that changed one day in 2018, when her parents got a call from her coach. Khloe had fallen ill with a fever and abdominal pain. The young athlete turned out to have a rare stage IV neuroendocrine tumor that had started in her pancreas and spread to her liver.
Khloe needed a dual liver-pancreas transplant, but given her age and the complexity of the surgery, only a handful of surgeons in the world could perform it. Among them was Srinath Chinnakotla, clinical director of pediatric transplantation at M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.”
Read the full story, here.