Join your colleagues in sharing innovative approaches to clinical practice, gaining insight into transplant finance, and expanding your leadership skills at the AST Medical Directors Forum.

Registration for the Fellows Symposium on Transplantation is now open! This comprehensive program is designed for clinical fellows and residents, surgical fellows, research fellows, pharmacists, and other trainees planning a career in transplantation medicine, surgery, or research.

Fellows, residents, trainees, and pharmacists who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for a travel grant. Fellows who are ineligible for travel grants may still register as general attendees. Medical students are also welcome to attend.

On behalf of the AST, the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT), and The Transplantation Society (TTS), we are excited to announce that registration is officially open for the International Transplantation Science Meeting 2025. 

ITS 2025 marks the fourth tri-society event in this global collaboration, bringing together top experts, early-career researchers, and transplant professionals worldwide. This meeting offers an exciting forum to explore cutting-edge basic and translational science in and beyond the field of transplantation.

The Living Donor Protection Act (LDPA) has been reintroduced in Congress, and we need your support. This bipartisan legislation would prohibit insurance discrimination against living organ donors, ensure they can use FMLA leave during recovery, and require updated educational resources to promote donation.

Take action now — urge your lawmakers to support the LDPA.

Funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) put critical transplant research at risk. NIH-funded studies have driven advancements in transplantation, improving patient outcomes and paving the way for innovations like new immunosuppressants, immune tolerance strategies, and even organ regeneration. Without this support, progress in the field could slow, affecting countless patients and families.

We need your help to ensure that transplant research remains a priority. Use our advocacy page to contact your members of Congress and urge them to protect NIH funding. Together, we can make a difference. Take action 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: American Journal of Transplantation
The lung continuous distribution system was modified on September 27, 2023, with the goal of increasing transplant access for blood type O candidates after an error was discovered in the simulation used to support the development of the initial allocation policy. This retrospective observational study compares national waitlist outcomes (transplant rate, waitlist mortality) under continuous distribution before (March 10, 2023, through September 26, 2023; premodification) and after (September 27, 2023, through April 14, 2024; postmodification) the blood type score modification. 

Source: Clinical Transplantation
Consensus regarding what defines acceptable heart transplant (HT) donors or recipients is lacking. This survey analyzed how risk factors guide donor and recipient selection, and how practices vary across systems.

Source: frontiers Publishing Partnerships
Herpesviruses are able to modulate adaptive T-cell-mediated responses to establish latency within the host. Reactivation of herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1/2 and varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a frequent and potentially serious complication among kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The ability of clinical criteria to identify KTRs at increased risk of α-herpesvirus (HSV/VZV) infection is limited. We investigated the effect of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA4) gene in a single-center cohort of 204 KTRs. After a median follow-up of 3.1 years, 34 of them (16.7%) experienced 22 episodes of zoster and 15 episodes of HSV-1/2 infection.