AST Holds Cutting Edge of Transplantation Meeting to Address the Organ Shortage
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
The Cutting Edge of Transplantation (CEOT) meeting, held February 25-27 in Phoenix, Arizona at the Arizona Biltmore, addressed the shortfall between the demand and availability of organs for transplantation. CEOT, the winter meeting of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), had record-breaking attendance in 2016 with over 400 transplantation professionals gathered to discuss a multifaceted approach to addressing the current organ shortage.
CEOT 2016 focused on how the effects of redistricting, the possibility of incentives, and the use of marginal donors impact the donor organ supply. Key speakers included Alvin Roth, PhD, Nobel Laureate, Stanford University; Congressman Kevin Yoder, United States House of Representatives; Brian Shepard, UNOS CEO; and I. Glenn Cohen, JD, Harvard Law School.
"We were overwhelmed by the positive response of the attendees at this meeting," said Anil Chandraker, MD, and Kenneth Newell, MD, PhD, CEOT Planning Committee Co-chairs. "We hit the sweet spot of a timely topic, great speakers, and a structure that allowed meaningful audience participation."
Additionally, in light of the proposed new UNOS heart allocation algorithm, CEOT 2016 included a dedicated heart track called “Effects of Redistricting on Heart Transplantation.” Run by leaders in heart transplantation, this heart track focused on topics of great importance to the heart transplant community, including increasing the donor heart pool, long-distance heart procurement, and donor heart selection.
"The CEOT heart track was well attended with great audience interaction," said Jon Kobashigawa, MD. "The impact of this heart track will have significant influence on improving the donor heart shortage and implementing an improved donor heart allocation policy."
Additional program information can be found at http://2016.ceot.myast.org/.
CEOT 2017 will take place at the same venue, the Arizona Biltmore, February 23-25, 2017.
About the AST
The American Society of Transplantation (AST) represents more than 3,300 transplantation professionals dedicated to advancing the field and improving patient care by promoting research, education, advocacy, and organ donation. The AST’s diverse membership includes physicians, surgeons, scientists, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrators. For more information about the AST, please visit www.myAST.org.
The American Society of Transplantation (AST) represents more than 3,300 transplantation professionals dedicated to advancing the field and improving patient care by promoting research, education, advocacy, and organ donation. The AST’s diverse membership includes physicians, surgeons, scientists, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrators. For more information about the AST, please visit www.myAST.org.