December, 2015
The American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Gastroenterology Board recently passed a resolution that will update the procedural competency standards in transplant hepatology fellowships. Starting with the 2016-2017 academic year, the following procedural competencies for initial certification in transplant hepatology will go into effect.
The revised competencies include:
Demonstrate competence in performing native and allograft liver biopsy and interpretation of results
A minimum of 20 liver biopsies, including native and alograft, should be performed
Biopsies performed...
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December 3, 2015
AST members,
Please take a moment to thank your members of congress and advocate for FY 2016 NIH research funding levels. Final appropriations are being voted on within the next week.
As you may be aware, Congress reached a two year budget agreement earlier this year that significantly reduces the negative impact of sequestration, providing additional funding for federal programs. However, reaching this deal was only the first step. Congress is now in the final stages of approving FY 2016 funding levels for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Take this opportunity...
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November, 2015
In November, we have three days dedicated to shopping (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday).
In December, it's time to give back on #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to generosity.
On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, people around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.
AST President James Allan has generously offered to personally purchase a copy of the recently published monograph,
Transplant Immunology (an AST publication...
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From the UNOS Transplant Pro Newsroom:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have published safety alerts regarding potential risk of Non-Tuberculosis Mycobacteria infections associated with the use of heater-cooler devices in patient care.
Some of the adverse events reported have been related to cardiothoracic surgery, although other reports did not specify the procedure the patient was undergoing.
The alerts do not specify a product recall or recommend discontinuance of heater-cooler devices, but they recommend additional...
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September, 2015
AST Members: Thanks to our partnership with ESOT, we are able to offer you a unique opportunity: free access to Transplant Live.
Through five online broadcasts, you can take part in some of the best sessions of the ESOT 2015 Brussels congress for free from anywhere in the world!
What can you expect from Transplant Live?
ESOT will be broadcasting during five separate times, covering all global timezones, on September 13, 14 and 15. Each show will offer a unique combination of the most thought-provoking live performances on stage, alternated with more in-depth interviews from our Transplant...
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August, 2015
The second annual Transplant Quality Institute (TQI), sponsored by the American Foundation for Donation and Transplantation (AFDT), will be held in Dallas, TX October 7-9, 2015.
The founding faculty is joined by guest faculty from CMS, UNOS, and SRTR participating in open forum Q and A sessions in addition to presentations on key topics and challenges.
This year includes an opportunity to submit an abstract on quality, improvement, data management, and patient safety to share best practices with your colleagues.
Submission deadline is August, 21st at midnight (2400 PST).
July, 2015
AST, AAKP, DLA, NKF, TRIO, and WLZ Joint Statement Regarding Living Donation
It has been estimated that nearly 700,000 Americans will have end-stage renal disease in 2015. Another 26 million individuals will suffer from some form of chronic kidney disease. Transplantation remains the most effective therapy for the majority of individuals with kidney failure. Unfortunately, the current system of organ donation is not meeting this growing need. Currently, more than 101,000 Americans are awaiting a kidney transplant, yet just over 17,100 transplants were performed last year.
Of the 17,106...
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The Division of Transplantation (DoT) of the Department of Health and Human Services’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released recognition results from Phase IV of the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Organ Donation Campaign, sponsored by HRSA.
More than 730 hospitals and transplant centers were recognized recently for their outstanding voluntary efforts to promote organ donation between August 2014 and April 2015. This number represents a 56 percent increase in recognition over the previous phase of the campaign.
In addition, a number of state hospital...
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