On behalf of the AST, the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT), and The Transplantation Society (TTS), we are excited to invite you to attend 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 AST is now accepting applications for its 2026 Career Development Grant cycle! These grants promote the careers of early career investigators whose research relates to solid organ transplantation (and/or immunology relating to solid organ transplant).

The Living Kidney Donor Medical Provider Toolkit has been fully updated! First published in 2018, the toolkit now includes revisions to all chapters and five new topics: genetic testing, international donor evaluation, GFR considerations, older donors, and tobacco/cannabis use.

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has formally approved a pilot program offering a pathway to ABIM Board Eligibility in Internal Medicine for international medical graduates who complete an ACGME-accredited fellowship either as an ‘exceptionally qualified candidate’ or as a graduate of an internal medicine training program with ACGME-International advanced specialty accreditation.

The AST invites members to participate in an exclusive virtual focus group! This session offers a unique opportunity for our industry partners to gather direct feedback from key stakeholders in transplantation – you.  By fostering open dialogues, this activity generates valuable insight, helps improve services, inform decision-making and shape future strategies.   

 

Liver Directed Therapy for MASH F2 and F3 Fibrosis 
Friday, October 17, 2025, at 1PM – 1:45 PM ET 
This activity is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the condition and its management. The discussion will explore the epidemiology and common co-morbidities associated with MASH, highlight the health care resource utilization implications, and review current AASLD practice guidance on clinical assessment and management of MASLD/MASH. In addition, participants will gain a clinical overview of Rezdiffra, offering insights into emerging therapeutic approaches for patients with F2 and F3 fibrosis. 

This "Understanding the Impact of the Pre-Transplant Mortality Ratio Metric Implementation" survey focuses on how transplant professionals perceive and respond to the recently implemented pre-transplant mortality ratio metric by UNOS. The goal is to assess how the metric has influenced transplant center practices, particularly in patient listing and organ utilization.

Source: Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network
The OPTN summer public comment period began on August 27 and will run through October 1. You can find the proposals the OPTN released for comment this cycle on the OPTN website.

This 10-minute survey is part of an ongoing AST Women’s Health Community of Practice (WHCOP) effort to better understand and improve support for transplant professionals when it comes to family leave and childrearing. The survey is expected to take less than 10 minutes to complete and will help with understanding the current practices and beliefs surrounding pregnancy and parental leave for transplant professionals. Responses will be used in research to identify gaps, inform best practices, and guide future policy and institutional recommendations to better support the transplant workforce.

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: Jama Network
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) increases risk of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), a rare neoplastic complication associated with high morbidity and mortality.1 Incidence of PTLD is highest among EBV-seronegative recipients (R−) receiving organs from EBV-seropositive donors (D+).2 Children are especially vulnerable to PTLD because approximately 40% to 50% are EBV seronegative, whereas less than 10% of adults are EBV seronegative.1,3 An estimated 7% to 15% of children who undergo a D+/R− kidney transplant develop PTLD.2,3 Infection with EBV after transplant and PTLD generally require a reduction in immunosuppression and aggressive therapies (eg, rituximab, chemotherapy), contributing to increased risk of graft loss and decreased patient survival.1,2,4 Transplanting organs from EBV-seronegative donors into seronegative recipients significantly reduces risk of PTLD.3

Source: Jama Network
In this multicenter trial that randomized 211 children at 6 months after heart transplant, everolimus and low-dose tacrolimus did not differ from tacrolimus and mycophenolate in preventing the composite endpoint of cellular rejection, cardiac allograft vasculopathy, and chronic kidney disease. However, everolimus and low-dose tacrolimus appeared to be safe based on the total burden of 6 major transplant events at 30 months and may be associated with improved kidney function and less cytomegalovirus infection.

Source: American Journal of Transplantation
Management of immunosuppression after solid organ transplantation in context of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CART) is challenging. While required to prevent graft rejection, systemic immunosuppression can interfere with biological functions of apheresis products and adoptively transferred T cells. We treated a 33-year-old kidney transplant recipient who developed relapsed/refractory post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) with CD19-CART as a fourth-line therapy. Immunosuppression was discontinued before leukapheresis for CART and not re-initiated ever since. While the PTLD remained in complete remission, we did not observe any signs of graft rejection (clinically and by determination of donor-derived cell-free DNA) until last follow-up 23 months after CART. Phenotyping of peripheral blood immune cell subsets showed stable recovery of T- and B-cell compartments with dominant naïve differentiation.

Source: Wiley Online
A specialty pharmacy mandate is a rule by insurance companies requiring patients to obtain “specialty” medications from specific pharmacies. This study's objective was to evaluate the impact of these mandates on patient care and the solid organ transplantation population. Two surveys were distributed to transplant professionals within the American Society of Transplantation Communities of Practice (AST COPs) and the International Transplant Nurses Society (ITNS).