July 5: Recent Transplant News
Monday, July 8, 2013
The national program for deceased organ donation in China
Transplantation (login required)
China has developed a new national program for deceased-organ donation to address the need for organ transplantation in the country. The program adheres to the World Health Organization guiding principles, is compliant with the Declaration of Istanbul, and respects the cultural and social values of the Chinese people. The experience of pilot trials conducted between 2010 and 2012 was evaluated to generate a comprehensive design of a national program of organ donation and transplantation for implementation throughout China. Read more.
Impaired exercise capacity after lung transplantation is related to delayed recovery of muscle strength
Clinical Transplantation (login required)
Lung transplant recipients report reduced exercise capacity despite satisfactory graft function. In a recent study, researchers analyzed changes in lung function, six-min walk distance (6MWD) and quadriceps strength in the first 26-weeks posttransplant and examined what factors predict 6MWD recovery. All lung transplant recipients at a single institution between June 2007 and January 2011 were considered for inclusion. Read more.
Should length of sobriety be a major determinant in liver transplant selection?
Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation (login required)
For patients with alcoholic liver disease, most liver transplant programs enforce a mandatory period of sustained abstinence prior to considering transplant. The '6-month rule' may eliminate potentially acceptable transplant candidates from a lifesaving procedure. This review focuses on the use of sobriety length as a determinant of transplant candidacy and as a predictor of future alcohol use. This article reviews the use of liver transplant in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis, and the impact of alcohol use on posttransplant outcomes. Read more.
Induction therapy in adult intestinal transplantation: Reduced incidence of rejection with '2-dose' alemtuzumab protocol
Clinical Transplantation (login required)
The incidence of early rejection after intestinal transplantation correlates with heightened risk of graft loss and mortality. Many different induction or pre-conditioning protocols have been reported in the last 10 years to improve outcomes; however, sepsis remains prevalent and diminishes long-term results. Read more.
Book chronicles face transplant recipient's transformation
ABC News
After hiding his face for 15 years, Richard Lee Norris has stepped into the spotlight for a book about the surgery that saved his life. Norris made headlines in 2012 when he received a full face transplant — the result of a 36-hour operation that swapped his scarred skin and shattered bones with tissue from a donor. Now he's sharing his story in "The Two Faces of Richard," a biography punctuated with never-before-seen black and white photos of his amazing transformation. Read more.
Trial: Calcineurin inhibitor-free mycophenolate mofetil/sirolimus maintenance in liver tansplantation
Liver Transplantation (login required)
Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and sirolimus (SRL) have been used for calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) minimization to reduce nephrotoxicity following liver transplantation. In this prospective, open-label, multicenter study, patients undergoing transplantation from July 2005 to June 2007 who were maintained on MMF/CNI were randomized 4 to 12 weeks after transplantation to receive MMF/SRL or continue MMF/CNI and included in the intent-to-treat population. Read more.
13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in children with immunocompromising conditions
CDC
On Feb. 20, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended routine use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13; Prevnar 13, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc.) for children aged 6–18 years with immunocompromising conditions, functional or anatomic asplenia, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks, or cochlear implants who have not previously received PCV13. PCV13 should be administered to these children regardless of whether they received the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) or the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23). Recommendations for PPSV23 use for children in this age group remain unchanged. Read more.
Deceased donor liver transplantation in infants and small children: Are partial grafts riskier than whole organs?
Liver Transplantation (login required)
Infants have the highest wait-list mortality of all liver transplant candidates. Although previous studies have demonstrated that young children may be at increased risk when they receive partial grafts from adult and adolescent deceased donors (DDs), with few size-matched organs available, these grafts have increasingly been used to expand the pediatric donor pool. In this study, researchers sought to determine the current adjusted risks of graft failure and mortality in young pediatric recipients of partial DD livers and to determine whether these risks have changed over time. Read more.
Patients HIV-free for now after transplant
CNN
Two more HIV patients have no signs of the virus in their blood following bone marrow transplants, according to the Boston researchers who treated them. However, experts stopped short of calling the two cured and said the treatment is not a viable option for the majority of HIV patients. The findings were presented recently at the International AIDS Society Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Read more.