December, 2013
AST and ASTS provided comments on the provision in the Oregon Insurance Division's proposed rule that would establish a benchmark plan for purposes of defining essential health benefits (EHB) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Read the full letter to Commissioner Cali.
November, 2013
TRIO, the Transplant Recipients International Organization, Inc., announced on Monday, the election of board of director officers for 2014. The following officers were elected:
President, James Gleason, a 19-year heart recipient, current President of TRIO, President of the TRIO Philadelphia Chapter, and currently serves on the UNOS Board of Directors
Vice President: Harvey Mysel, a 7-year kidney transplant recipient, founder and President of Living Kidney Donation Network (LKDN)
Secretary: Steve Okonek, a 20-year liver transplant recipient, Past President of the TRIO San Francisco Bay...
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President Obama Signs HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act; Joined by the American Society of Transplantation (AST)
AST President attends White House Oval Office ceremony to witness the historic signing of important organ transplant legislation
WASHINGTON, DC - November 21, 2013 - AST President Dr. Daniel Salomon joined President Obama today at the White House as he signed S. 330, the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act. The legislation, which enjoyed bipartisan and bicameral support, seeks to expand the supply of life-saving organs available for transplantation to the more than 118,000 individuals...
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Congress Passes HIV Organ Policy Equity Act (HOPE Act)
Legislation will lead to increases in life-saving donor organs and vital research in the area of HIV organ donation and transplantation
WASHINGTON, DC – November 13, 2013 – The
American Society of Transplantation (AST), representing the majority of professionals engaged in the field of organ transplantation, applauded yesterday's action by the U.S. House of Representatives to bring the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act (HOPE Act) one step closer to being signed into law. The legislation, which has bipartisan support, has now...
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Full press release below
For Release:
November 4, 2013
Brussels, Belgium - - - Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) has announced the publication of a new evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline making recommendations on treatment of dyslipidemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD). The guideline will appear in the November issue of Kidney International Supplements.
The
Clinical Practice Guideline for Lipid Management in Chronic Kidney Disease is KDIGO’s ninth global...
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Brian M. Shepard has been selected as Chief Executive Officer of UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing). UNOS matches donated organs with transplant candidates nationwide and manages the national transplant database through contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As Chief Executive Officer, Shepard directs the efforts of more than 300 UNOS staff to ensure that the nation's transplant network efficiently and fairly serves the needs of transplant candidates and recipients, living donors and donor family members, and transplant professionals. He reports to the UNOS...
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October, 2013
Attention AST Members: It's time to renew your membership for 2014. Please log in to the
AST website today to pay your dues online. If you have forgotten your login credentials, simply click the "Forgot Password" link to have the information emailed to you. Contact the AST office at
info@myAST.org with any questions.
Important Notice: In order to receive the member-discounted registration rate for the 2014 World Transplant Congress (WTC) in San Francisco, your dues must be paid by March 1, 2014.
September, 2013
On September 24th & 25th, AST's Public Policy Committee descended on Capitol Hill and met with more than a dozen Members of Congress in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. A majority of the meetings were with the actual Senators and Congressmen themselves.
The two primary purposes for AST's visits with members of Congress was to: 1) garner further support for federal funding of NIH and medical research; as well as 2) strengthen support and cosponsors for the Transplant Patient Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Patients Act of 2013. The Society's leaders also discussed...
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Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Amplifies the Humoral Immune Response
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
Renal transplant recipients who experience delayed graft function have increased risks of rejection and long-term graft failure. Ischemic damage is the most common cause of delayed graft function, and although it is known that tissue inflammation accompanies renal ischemia, it is unknown whether renal ischemia affects the production of antibodies by B lymphocytes, which may lead to chronic humoral rejection and allograft failure....
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Effective Oct. 1, a new policy (3.1.14) created to define the PHS Guideline will allow members to use either the 1994 or the 2013 version. It will also require members to specify which version they are using in the donor highlights section of DonorNet.
Click here for more information, or see a
comparison of the guidelines.
