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.

We’re pleased to announce that the application window for Fellows 2025 travel grants has been reopened for a short period in response to community feedback.

This extension is intended to ensure equitable access, particularly for transplant fellows whose programs began on or after July 1 and may have been unable to apply during the original cycle.

If you or someone in your program is eligible but missed the initial deadline, now is the time to apply.

New Application Deadline: Wednesday, July 23
Meeting Location: Chicago, IL
Symposium Dates: September 19–21, 2025

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
There is limited information on access and outcomes of patients living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) who have undergone pancreas transplantation. We conducted a retrospective cohort study analyzing data from the United Network for Organ Sharing from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2021. Recipients of pancreas transplant were stratified by HIV serostatus.

Source: American Journal of Transplantation
The success and safety of clinical xenotransplantation are determined by technical aspects of surgery, the nature and intensity of immunosuppression, xenograft function, and the ability to avoid immunologic, hematologic, infectious, and malignant complications. In clinical xenotransplantation from swine, infectious challenges relate to the potential spread of pig pathogens to immunosuppressed humans as well as manifestations of infections of the recipient from prior exposures to common human organisms.

Source: Sage Journals
Due to increased risk of myalgia and rhabdomyolysis associated with the use of simvastatin with cyclosporine, use of high-intensity 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl Coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) is often avoided in transplant recipients.

Source: JACC Journals
Heart transplantation markedly improves health-related quality of life and survival in patients with advanced heart failure. However, heart transplant patients remain at an elevated risk for chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.