AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY CALLS ON CONGRESS TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE US TRANSPLANT SYSTEM

Today, leaders from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) will meet with their congressional delegations and call for their support of an $8 million increase for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Organ Transplantation Program in FY 25 This funding, totaling $67 million, will be used to continue Congress’ commitment to people seeking a transplant and will implement reforms to modernize the transplant system and make transplant care more accessible.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: The Best Care for Kids in California and the West Coast

U.S. News has again ranked CHLA as the top children’s hospital in California and in the survey’s Pacific U.S. region—which encompasses Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. CHLA also made the publication’s annual Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals for the 14th consecutive year—every year since its inception—finishing No. 8 in the United States in this showcase of the nation’s leading destinations for pediatric medical care.

“Lungs in a Box” Now Offered at Northwestern Medicine

Due to COVID-19 and a rapidly expanding list of conditions for which lung transplantation can be lifesaving, the need for new organs is growing. However, there’s a global shortage of donated lungs, which results in numerous deaths among patients on the waitlist. To help expand the donor pool, Northwestern Medicine is now using a device from XVIVO called XPS™ which is used for ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) – nicknamed “lungs in a box” – to rescue potentially viable lungs and those initially deemed “unacceptable” for transplant. Out of all solid organs, lungs have the lowest utilization, with only one in five donated lungs getting transplanted.

Reducing lung transplant rejection aim of clinical trial funded with $22 million grant

Physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston have received a seven-year, $22 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help lead a multicenter clinical trial evaluating whether a novel immunosuppressant can reduce the risk of organ rejection after a lung transplant.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY CALLS ON BIDEN- HARRIS ADMINISTRATION TO INCREASE TRANSPLANT AVAILABILITY AND EQUITY

— The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) re- affirms its supporti for the Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) Conditions for Coverage final rule issued on November 20, 2020. The society calls for the Biden-Harris administration to implement this final policy as expediently as possible. By bringing objective and verifiable standards to assess the performance of OPOs, this final rule will increase the number of organs available for transplant and reduce racial inequity in the U.S. transplant system.

Lung, Heart, Kidney and Liver Transplant Programs Rank among Nation’s Best

UC San Diego Health’s lung, heart, kidney and liver transplant programs rank at the top nationally in the latest biannual Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) report. Innovative treatment and multi-disciplinary care contribute to the high rankings for one-year survival outcomes.

Roswell Park Study: Delaying Antiviral Treatment May Boost Immunity in Stem Cell Transplant Recipients

Patients who develop cytomegalovirus infections after allogeneic stem cell transplantation may be able to develop an immunity against the virus, strengthen their immune system and reduce reliance on strong antiviral medications, a team from Roswell Park reports in the journal Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Study Finds Immune Cell That Predicts Risk of Organ Rejection In Transplant Patients

Researchers at The Ohio State University College of Medicine are the first to identify an immune cell that may predict a transplant patient’s risk of developing antibodies that can cause organ rejection. This discovery could lead to the development of therapies to prevent complications after transplant surgery.

Lung Transplant Performed on a COVID-19 Patient at Northwestern Medicine

For the first time, surgeons at Northwestern Medicine performed a double-lung transplant on a patient whose lungs were damaged by COVID-19. The patient, a Hispanic woman in her 20s, spent six weeks in the COVID ICU on a ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine that does the work of the heart and lungs.