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Become a Fellow of the AST
AST
The AST Board is pleased to introduce a new designation to recognize those members of AST who have demonstrated a superior commitment to both AST and the field of transplantation: “Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation.” Members who earn fellowship status will be permitted to append the "FAST" designation to their signatures as a public expression of their professional achievement.
Anyone who has been an AST member for at least five years may apply for this fellowship: see the AST website for details on how to apply.
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UPCOMING EVENTS IN TRANSPLANTATION
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February Online Journal Club
AST
Donor-Specific Antibodies, C4d and Their Relationship With the Prognosis of Transplant Glomerulopathy: Tuesday, Feb. 24, Noon EST.
Register today for a free discussion of the article above from the January 2015 issue of Transplantation. This journal club is hosted by AST's Transplant Diagnostics Community of Practice.
Understanding FQAPI: Free webinar series through 2015
AST
Join us and ASTS as we host a monthly educational webinar series designed and presented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This series will detail all elements of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI). The next webinar is Wednesday, March 11 and is an overview of the FQAPI worksheet.
Webinars are free to all: membership in AST or ASTS is not required. All webinars will be broadcast live, and the recordings will be made available on demand following the air date. View complete details and register at www.myAST.org/FQAPI.
The content of this presentation is determined independently by CMS: neither the AST nor ASTS have input on the content. We appreciate CMS providing this information to the transplant community and so we are facilitating that process, but that should not be construed as any endorsement of the content by either organization.
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
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The UCLA Immunogenetics Center (UIC) provides comprehensive testing for organ and tissue transplantation. Transplant testing has a long history at UCLA. HLA typing was pioneered here in the 1960's. The development of the microcytoxicity test in 1964 marked the beginning of international testing and standardization of HLA typing. The UCLA Immunogenetics Center has retained its leadership position in HLA research, and in the development of accompanying diagnostic testing. MORE
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Mark your calendar! AST Town Hall and Excellence in Transplantation Reception at ATC
AST
We invite you and all AST members to attend the AST Town Hall meeting at ATC on Monday, May 4 at 5:45 p.m. This meeting provides a forum for open discussion between AST membership and leadership about key issues impacting our society and field of transplantation. In addition, we'll announce the Board of Directors election results, honor AST volunteer leaders, and award the 2015 research grants. Immediately following the Town Hall meeting, join friends and colleagues for the Excellence in Transplantation Reception.
Transplant Pro – Monthly Newsletter
UNOS
Transplant Pro is the monthly UNOS newsletter and it is a good resource for those working in the field of transplantation. Some highlights from the February issue include:
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Raptor's mission is to develop and commercialize life-altering therapeutics that treat rare, debilitating, and often fatal diseases.
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To find out how to feature your company in the AST eNewsletter and other advertising opportunities, Contact Tom Crist at 972-402-7724.
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National decline in donor heart utilization with regional variability: 1995–2010
American Journal of Transplantation
The severe shortage of donor hearts limits the availability of transplantation for the growing population of patients with end-stage heart disease. We examined national trends in donor heart acceptance for transplant. OPTN data were analyzed for all potential adult cardiac organ donors between 1995 and 2010. Donor heart disposition was categorized as transplanted, declined for transplant or other. We studied changes in the probability of donor heart acceptance according to demographic and clinical characteristics, nationwide and by UNOS region.
Prevalence of BK polyomavirus infection and association with renal dysfunction in pediatric heart transplant recipients
The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
BK polyomavirus (BKV) infection and nephropathy complicate renal allografts; however, their effect in the native kidneys of pediatric heart transplant (HTx) recipients is unknown. We assessed the prevalence of BKV infection and its association with kidney dysfunction in survivors of pediatric HTx. A single-center retrospective study compared pediatric (aged <18 years ) HTx recipients, with and without BKV (controls), who received an allograft from May 1989 to July 2013. Screening of urine for BKV was performed in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage ≥2 since 2006, and since April 2012 in all HTx recipients at least at an annual evaluation.
Normothermic ex vivo perfusion provides superior organ preservation and enables viability assessment of hearts from DCD donors
American Journal of Transplantation
The shortage of donors in cardiac transplantation may be alleviated by the use of allografts from donation after circulatory death (DCD) donors. We have previously shown that hearts exposed to 30 min warm ischemic time and then flushed with Celsior supplemented with agents that activate ischemic postconditioning pathways, show complete recovery on a blood-perfused ex vivo working heart apparatus. In this study, these findings were assessed in a porcine orthotopic heart transplant model.
Survival benefit of solid-organ transplant in the United States
JAMA Surgery
The aim of this study was to determine the survival benefit of solid-organ transplant as recorded during a 25-year study period in the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database and the Social Security Administration Death Master File. In this retrospective analysis of UNOS data for solid-organ transplant during a 25-year period (September 1, 1987, through December 31, 2012), we reviewed the records of 1 112 835 patients: 533 329 recipients who underwent a transplant and 579 506 patients who were placed on the waiting list but did not undergo a transplant.
CD27low natural killer cells prolong allograft survival in mice by controlling alloreactive CD8+ T cells in a T-bet–dependent manner
Transplantation
Natural killer (NK) cells play a dichotomous role in alloimmune responses because they are known to promote both allograft survival and rejection. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of functionally distinct NK cell subsets in alloimmunity with the hypothesis that this dichotomy is explained by the functional heterogeneity of distinct NK cell subsets.
Missed last week's issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
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