I want to thank Dr. Win Williams once again for his contribution to last month’s blog which highlighted a constructive approach to addressing an obvious disparity in access to organ transplantation. Continuing in this same vein, I have invited AST Past President Ken Newell to blog about a fantastic conference that the AST hosted on the biology and ethics surrounding APOL1 gene variants and organ donation.
As many of you know, there are APOL1 gene variants, principally within the...
Read More...Disparities in access to health care and variations in utilization of services due to race and/or socioeconomic status remain an unfortunate reality in today’s society. The AST’s core purpose reads, "Improving human life by advancing the field of transplantation." This statement is a tagline that the AST has used for over a decade. What is important to notice is that our mission is to improve human life. Our mission is not to improve some human lives while ignoring others. It is therefore essential that the AST provides leadership directed toward resolving these issues, which are often...
Read More...James S. Allan, MD, MBA, AST President
Today, the American Society of Transplantation (AST) is proud to announce the roll-out of a new brand image and a new website. This change is not simply cosmetic: it reflects the culmination of a multi-year process to strategically modernize the society's image and to provide advanced functionality to our members' most important interface with our organization.
The American Society of Transplant Physicians was formed in 1982 by a small group from the American Society of Nephrology to represent a growing number of transplant physicians...
Read More...Currently, transplantation remains one of the most regulated areas of health care. A variety of groups, from payors to UNOS to CMS, have policies that ostensibly encourage the highest quality of patient care. However, these policies do not always align with each other or with the best interests of patients. I have invited my colleague Dr. Jesse Schold to share his thoughts on the current state of transplantation policies.
Jesse Schold, PhD, AST Board Member
Recently, Dr. Allan blogged about timely and important...
Read More...James S. Allan, MD, MBA, AST President
A few years ago, I had the occasion to give my dad’s eulogy.
In a few brief moments, I had to tell a church full of people why I thought my dad was a great guy. Until then, I had never really thought about the specifics of this. I just knew that he was great and that had been sufficient.
With only a few days to prepare a coherent defense of my dad’s greatness, I settled upon a single theme: generosity.
My dad was generous: with his love, with his knowledge, with his time, and with his money.
He knew that he...
Read More...In anticipation of CEOT 2016, I have asked Ken Newell to blog about what I think will be the best winter meeting our society has ever planned. I hope to see you and your families there!
Kenneth Newell, MD, PhD, AST Past-President and CEOT 2016 Program Planning Co-Chair
Is your career focused on transplantation?
Do you want to better understand the sweeping changes that are impacting your practice today, as well as those that are just around...
Read More...Daniel...
Read More...Winter in Boston was rough this year. By mid-February, the snow had drifted above my rooftop. When the last snow melted late in April, it was clear that I had some damage to my roof. I started to pull my ladder from the garage, but my wife stopped me, knowing that my sense of balance was not one of my stronger attributes. She insisted that I call a repairman, saying, “Let someone else go up there...you’ll kill yourself!” What she was really saying was that I should hire someone who either values his safety less or needs money more than I do. I acquiesced and found a roofer who did an...
Read More...Living donation began in 1954 and has become more commonplace in recent years due to laparoscopic techniques that allow donors to recover quickly and spend fewer days in the hospital. Despite these advances, living donation remains a serious decision. To promote safe evaluation and care for living donors, federal regulations require transplant programs to appoint an independent living donor advocate (ILDA) to support these patients. However, many in the transplantation community have questions about what the ILDA role entails and how to operationalize it. To clear up the confusion, I have...
Read More...Many in our community have dedicated significant time, research, and thought to the best way to allocate donor organs fairly to patients across the country. However, geographic factors often introduce undesirable anomalies into our organ allocation system. Considering that some regions are net organ exporters while others are net organ importers, it is understandable how contentious battles over a limited resource can arise.
Dr. David Foley and Dr. James Spivey recently represented the AST at an...
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