November 22, 2013 Posted by dsalomon
The current dysfunction in Washington is deplorable and has diminished the lives and business of all Americans. It has impacted transplantation at many levels from the uncertainty created by the partisan fighting over health care reform, arbitrary spending cuts by Sequestration, delay in advancing the Immuno Bill and the self-destructive failure to fund the NIH adequately. But today I can report a bit of hope, literally, that Washington can still accomplish some good things. I witnessed a clear example of the power that working with government, special interest advocacy groups and...
Read More...
November 05, 2013 Posted by dsalomon
I’ve just returned home from Madison, Wisconsin and the first event of the new AST Power2Save Initiative – an amazing night of rocking country music to raise money and awareness for the AST’s goals of advancing organ donation, public advocacy and research.
In a terrific venue near the University of Wisconsin campus and Health Center, The Band Perry, Joel Crouse and Scott MacIntyre gave their professional best to over 2,200 people. This concert event was over two years in the making and represents a remarkable...
Read More...
August 06, 2013 Posted by dsalomon
Part Three of a Three-Part Series
The shortage of organs for donation has been a long standing issue facing transplantation for years. As a resource for transplantation and patient advocacy, the AST must work to contribute to finding a solution. And after some thoughtful consideration, I believe there are two clear paths that AST can and should explore again in discrete and constructive steps.
The first path is toward increasing deceased donor donation. There can never be enough community education and engagement to explain the "miracle of transplantation" to the public. The...
Read More...
July 30, 2013 Posted by dsalomon
Part Two of a Three-Part Series
Last week, in my very first Presidential blog post, I urged us to consider the implications of the message, "it's organ donation stupid." Supply falls short of demand. There are not enough organs to save every patient who needs one to survive. Yet despite the OPTN's system to regulate the allocation of organs, issues arise that publically contest the system. And the most recent issue became my first challenge as President of the Society.
A few weeks ago our nation took notice of a 10-year old girl with cystic fibrosis, Sarah Murnaghan, who had...
Read More...
July 23, 2013 Posted by dsalomon
Part One of a Three-Part Series
In the early 1990's a little known Governor from Arkansas was rising rapidly through his party's ranks to win the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Upon securing the nomination, the Clinton campaign set about developing myriad strategies and policy positions in the hopes of finding a "winner" issue that would help Clinton unseat the then-incumbent President, George H. W. Bush. After examining many strategies and policy issues, there was one single mantra that political consultant James Carville repeated day after day to the...
Read More...
May 20, 2013 Posted by rmannon
As I look back over the previous 12 months, I am filled with both gratitude and pride in our leadership; how so many of our volunteers have stepped up and successfully navigated challenges and opportunities for the Society in 2012-2013. We all share the common goal of strengthening, preserving and advancing the field of organ transplantation – understanding that success and failure are never permanent and we must remain constantly vigilant and proactive to protect our field of medicine.
Although I am stepping down this week as President, I am not stepping away from the work of the...
Read More...
May 15, 2013 Posted by rmannon
As I look back over the previous 12 months, I am filled with both gratitude and pride at how so many of our volunteer leaders have stepped up and successfully navigated a variety of challenges and opportunities for the Society in 2012-2013. Among our ranks, we all share the common goal of strengthening, preserving and advancing the field of solid organ transplantation. That said, success and failure are never permanent...and it is required of us to constantly remain vigilant and proactive as the guardians of our field of medicine.
Although I am stepping down this week as President...
Read More...
April 23, 2013 Posted by rmannon
In just 4 weeks, we will convene in Seattle for the 13th meeting of the American Transplant Congress. As in years past, the organizing committee, which consists of representatives from both AST and ASTS, has put together a jam-packed program of provocative symposia, presentations and workshops on updates in current practice, new insights into alloimmune injury, and emerging research discoveries within our field.
Behind the scenes, staff in the AST offices are working tirelessly to prepare. The AST Board meeting will be the longest we’ve ever...
Read More...
March 25, 2013 Posted by rmannon
In recent weeks, some of you have reached out to me with concerns that AST has not been sufficiently involved with how the Sequester is impacting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding budget. We are a field that is highly dependent on biomedical research and let me assure you that our AST lobbyists, Bill Applegate and Chris Rorick of Bryan Cave, continue to have research advocacy as a top priority.
For over a decade, AST has worked closely with the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations – supporting biomedical research and connecting-the-dots...
Read More...
March 17, 2013 Posted by rmannon
Education continues to be one of the most critical needs for transplant professionals and is the number one reason why people join AST. The American Transplant Congress and the American Journal of Transplantation are two significant offerings most often appreciated by members. But we don’t rest on our laurels — instead we strive to continue to find ways to update skills, highlight critical issues and, moving forward, serve as a resource for maintenance of certification.
Over the last year, we have moved entirely to a volunteer committee responsible for the oversight of all our...
Read More...
