Immerse yourself in the latest research and breakthroughs in the field of transplantation at WTC 2025, hosted in the dynamic city of San Francisco. This global congress draws experts, healthcare practitioners, and researchers and provides them with an opportunity to explore in-depth the sector’s newest developments.

For a limited time, the AST is offering an exclusive membership discount to transplant trainees. We're on a mission to help trainees boost their careers using the AST's benefits.

Through March 31, 2025, trainees can join the AST for just $60. To join with this promotion, you must qualify as a transplant trainee and be approved for membership. To receive the discount, use code TRAINEE2025.

We’re thrilled to kick off AST’s 2025 Member Referral Campaign, where you can grow our vibrant transplant community and win exciting prizes! This year, there’s even more to look forward to with the World Transplant Congress (WTC) happening this August in San Francisco. By referring your colleagues, you're helping them access AST’s exclusive resources and connecting them with an incredible global community ahead of this must-attend event.

HRSA announced an OPTN Board of Directors special election will be held later this year. Applications to be considered for inclusion on the ballot for the upcoming OPTN Board of Directors special election will be accepted through 5 p.m. ET on April 4, 2025. Slides from HRSA’s February 28 OPTN Board Special Election Update webinar can be found here and additional information, including the application form, can be found on the HRSA and OPTN websites. The AST strongly encourages all interested members to review the background information about the special election, who is eligible, and the expected next steps, and submit an application before the April 4 due date.

The WTC Student Ambassador Program aims to promote transplantation as an exciting and rewarding field of specialization for 3rd and 4th-year medical students. By engaging future medical professionals, this program will foster awareness and enthusiasm for organ donation and transplantation while enhancing participation at the WTC 2025 Congress. The deadline to apply is March 19, 2025.
 

Join CMV Stream 2025 for another in-depth discussion on challenging issues and open questions from the upcoming 4th International Consensus Guidelines on the management of CMV in SOT.

The Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation (FAST) designation application is now open to all members who meet the eligibility criteria. Don't miss out on joining this prestigious program and be recognized for your contributions to transplantation!

The AST is pleased to announce its call for nominations for the 2025 Achievement Awards.

Each year, the AST honors its members’ accomplishments and contributions to the field of transplantation through the Achievement Awards. Members are recognized at different levels of their careers with Basic Science Awards, Clinical Science Awards, and Distinguished Career Awards. Nominate a colleague today!

The AST developed a survey aimed at soliciting your perspectives on legislative and regulatory issues that significantly influence both patient care and professional practice. Our goal is to establish a platform for our membership to share their invaluable ideas and perspectives and actively engage with the Public Policy Committee and AST leadership. We look forward to your input as we navigate the dynamics of our ever-evolving landscape of transplant care and practice.

Source: Transplantation
Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPKT) is the therapy of choice for selected patients with complicated type 1 diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease. Pancreas rescue allocation was implemented in Eurotransplant allocation algorithms to increase organ utilization, concurrently facilitating transplantation of supposedly inferior quality organs. 

Source: Transplantation Direct
The increasing demand for organs has pushed transplant providers to expand kidney acceptance criteria. The use of kidneys from donors with AKI has been shown to provide good long-term graft survival. We aim to evaluate and compare the outcomes of deceased donor kidney transplantation from donors with acute kidney injury (AKI), either with or without renal replacement therapy (AKI-RRT) before donation.

Source: Transplant Infectious Disease
Both hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) and normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) are increasingly used for preservation of deceased donor kidneys. However, especially NMP can pose as a risk for microbial contamination of the kidney graft as the 37°C perfusate can act as a breeding ground for microbial contaminants.