Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a new rule establishing the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model, a 6-year, mandatory initiative to enhance access to kidney transplants, improve care quality, and reduce disparities. Managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the program…
Editor's Note The Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) is launching a national effort to reduce discard rates of donated organs, according to an October 23 announcement from the University of Michigan. OPTN oversees organ distribution for transplant procedures in the US. According to the report, the organization aims to…
Editor's Note An observational study of kidney transplant patients with HIV shows that organs from donors with HIV appeared to be noninferior to those from donors without. Published October 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the observational study analyzed 198 kidney transplants conducted at 26 US centers…
Editor's Note An algorithm developed by researchers at Duke University Medical Centre is designed to assist patients diagnosed with intermediate-stage liver cancer in making decisions about surgery, according to an October 9 report in News Medical Life Sciences. Known as the Modified Metroticket, this tool predicts overall survival and recurrence-free…
Editor's Note Raising awareness of misinformation and encouraging people to register as organ donors are among the ways organizations throughout the country are highlighting organ transplant disparities during Hispanic Heritage month, which ends October 15. Citing data from the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,…
Editor's Note Nearly 20 years of data on the first 50 face transplants in the world indicate that survival rates exceed those of several solid organ transplants, according to a global study published September 18 in Jama Surgery. Conducted between 2005 and 2021, the study involved 18 transplant centers, assessed…
Editor's Note A recent study in JAMA Surgery showed women with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were 8% less likely than men to receive a liver transplant and 6% more likely to die or be removed from the waitlist, Healio reported September 9. The study, which analyzed 31,725 adults waitlisted for…
Editor's Note Surgeons at NYU Langone Health used a da Vinci X robotic system throughout an entire lung transplant procedure for the first time in the US and the third time in the world, DotMed reported September 11. Led by Dr. Stephanie Chang, the surgery offered a fast, minimally invasive…
Editor's Note Lost organs, widespread fraud, and live donors mistakenly presumed deceased are among the alarming issues with the US organ transplant system detailed in a recent Congressional hearing, MedPage Today reported September 11. As part of the House Energy & Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, the hearing aimed to…
Editor's Note Aaron James says he’s “pretty much back to being a normal guy, doing normal things” a year after undergoing the world’s first whole-eye and partial-face transplant at NYU Langone Health, according to a September 9 report from the academic medical center. The transplant restored essential facial functions, and…