February, 2013
There is still time to register for the first annual
Cutting Edge of Transplantation (CEOT) meeting this Feb. 14-16 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The
full program is available online, including rapid-fire abstract presentations and speed roundtable discussions with subject-matter experts.
If you have not yet remitted payment for your 2013 membership dues, please do so immediately to ensure that you continue to receive all of the benefits of membership with the AST, including discounted meeting registration. Your dues must be paid no later than April 1, 2013 in order to be eligible for member-discounted registration rates to the
American Transplant Congress in Seattle. Renewing your membership is easy. Simply log in to the AST website and click on "Renew My Membership" to pay your dues online. A confirmation email will be sent to you...
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January, 2013
Treatment of steroid-resistant acute renal allograft rejection with alemtuzumab
Source: American Journal of Transplantation (subscription required)
Steroid-resistant renal allograft rejections are commonly treated with rabbit antithymocyte globulin (RATG), but alemtuzumab could be an effective, safe and more convenient alternative. Adult patients with steroid-resistant renal allograft rejection treated with alemtuzumab (15–30 mg s.c. on two subsequent days) from 2008 to 2012 were compared to patients treated with RATG....
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2013 Pay it Forward Winners!
Congratulations to the 2013 Pay It Forward Member-Get-A-Member Campaign Winners!
The following three people encouraged their colleagues to join the AST and because of them, the AST community continues to grow.
Christopher Martin, BS (Pharm) - Grand Prize: Apple iPad and complementary membership dues for 2014
Mourad Alsabaugh, MD - 2nd Prize: $500 AST Bucks
Nicolae Leca, MD - 3rd Prize: $250 AST Bucks
"AST has been an invaluable forum to collaborate, explore, learn and advance the field of transplantation in the company of transplant professionals I highly...
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The International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS) has launched a contest for transplant patients to write about how a transplant nurse has made a difference in their lives. Transplant professionals are encouraged to spread the word and print the contest brochure for display at their hospital. For more information,
click here.
5-year outcomes in living donor kidney transplants with a positive crossmatch
Source: American Journal of Transplantation (subscription required)
Renal transplant candidates with high levels of donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies have low transplantation rates and high mortality rates on dialysis. Using desensitization protocols, good short-term outcomes are possible in "positive crossmatch kidney transplants ( XMKTx)," but long-term outcome data are lacking. The aim of the current study was to determine actual 5-year graft outcomes of XMKTx....
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The AST supports and endorses the legislation to amend the Public Health Service (PHS) Act to establish safeguards and standards of quality for research and transplantation of organs infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Read the letter here.
The association of center performance evaluations and kidney transplant volume in the US
Source: American Journal of Transplantation
Report cards evaluating transplant center performance have received significant attention in recent years corresponding with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issue of the 2007 Conditions of Participation. Our primary aim was to evaluate the association of report card evaluations with transplant center volume.
Read more.
Influenza vaccination in solid-...
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The Pediatric Community of Practice has developed a list of resources available in the U.S. and Canada for educating students about organ transplantation. To access this information, simply visit the
PCOP Resource Center (member login is required).
