Pig organ transplant recipient remains healthy, sets xenotransplant record
Editor’s Note Towana Looney, a 53-year-old Alabama woman, has become the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant, thriving 61 days after receiving a gene-edited pig kidney. The Associated Press (AP) reported the news January 25. As detailed in the article, her recovery offers critical insights into the development of…
Mastering CMS regulations: How to ensure a finding-free Joint Commission survey
Takeaways • Requirements for improvement and condition level deficiency findings have been trending up in recent The Joint Commission surveys. • The scoring trends and OR hot spots focus on infection control, medication management, national patient safety goals, post-surgical electronic health record tracers, and transplant (tissue) safety. • Federal regulations,…
Milestone pig kidney transplant offers hope amid ethical, safety questions
Editor's Note A 53-year-old woman with end-stage kidney failure became the first living person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney in a milestone surgery at NYU Langone Health, NPR reported December 17. Although the experimental procedure marks significant progress toward addressing organ shortages, it also drew commentary on ongoing…
HHS finalizes rule to expand kidney transplant access
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…
Task force aims to reduce discarded organs, boost transplants
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…
Study: Kidney transplants safe between donors, patients with HIV
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…
Algorithm enhances decision-making on intermediate-stage liver cancer surgery, treatment
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…
Hispanic Heritage Month reports highlight awareness, action on organ transplant disparities
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,…
Face transplant survival rates “encouraging,” global study finds
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…
Study: Right-sized donor livers scarce for female cancer patients
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…
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- Pig organ transplant recipient remains healthy, sets xenotransplant record
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