Transplantation News

PHOENIX — The metric currently used to evaluate the impact of kidney allocation policies needs to be addressed to ensure a more equitable distribution of organs, according to a speaker at Cutting Edge of Transplantation: Transplant Summit.

PHOENIX — Since 2016, kidneys from donors with hepatitis C virus are being discarded less and transplanted more, according to a speaker at Cutting Edge of Transplantation: Transplant Summit.

Monitoring the composition of CD8+ memory T cell subsets in the blood of kidney transplant recipients may help predict graft failure 8 years after transplant, according to recently published findings.

PHOENIX — There are many ways limited resources like kidneys can be allocated, but the key is to find a system that gives everyone, regardless of social or economic status, equal ability to access that resource, a speaker said here.

PHOENIX — Defining health equity as “the elimination of avoidable disparities in health outcomes among socially disadvantaged groups,” Darren Stewart, MD, a research scientist at the United Network for Organ Sharing, outlined how the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network goes about monitoring the transplantation process and also named the four factors most strongly associated with disparities in access to kidney transplant.

U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced legislation on Feb. 28 that would extend immunosuppressive drug coverage for Medicare patients who receive a kidney transplant regardless of age.

Transplanting kidneys from donors with hepatitis C virus into uninfected recipients reduced costs to the health care system, while also increasing life expectancy for recipients, according to this study.

There was substantial variation among dialysis centers regarding referral and evaluation rates for kidney transplantation, according to this study. In addition, researchers observed differences in which patients were most likely to be referred and/or evaluated.

Researchers from Australia found survival after kidney transplantation during childhood has improved significantly during the past 5 decades, with much of the improvement from reductions in cardiovascular- and infection-related deaths.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Improving the transplant rate and ensuring patients are presented all options for kidney care are high priorities for Advancing American Kidney Health, an HHS official said during a keynote talk, here.