VCA for the Transplant Community

The VCA for the Transplant Community - The Need and the Achieved (Debunking the Myths) webinar series is designed to broaden the interdisciplinary interaction between those involved in VCA and those involved in non VCA transplantation. The objective of this series is to share with the wider transplant community, through the AST membership and beyond, the current unmet needs that VCA aims to address.

On December 1, 2020, the AST VCA Advisory Council (VCA AC) hosted an AST/AJT Journal Club discussing the AJT article: “Vascularized composite allotransplantation in the United States: A retrospective analysis of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network data after 5 years of the Final Rule” (doi.org/10.1111/ajt.16086). From the discussion, it was evident that there is a need to raise awareness in the transplant community about what VCA is, what unmet patient needs it addresses, and what it can deliver as well as the challenges and risks. The VCA AC used the feedback from this session to develop a 4-part webinar series to address the three most commonly performed VCAs to date (Face, Upper Extremity, and Uterus) as well as one providing the international perspective for these transplants.

Webinar #1: "Uterus Transplantation"

Presenters:
- Dr. Elizabeth Stewart • Mayo Clinic Alix College of Medicine
- Dr. Liza Johannesson • Baylor University Medical Center

Moderator:
- Dr. Paige Porrett • University of Alabama at Birmingham

Webinar #2: "Upper Extremity Transplantation"

Presenters:
- Dr. Scott Levin • Penn Medicine
- Ms. Diane Atkins • Baylor College of Medicine

Moderator:
- Dr. Jaimie Shores • John Hopkins University School of Medicine

Webinar #3: "Face Transplantation"

Presenters:
- Dr. Samir Mardini • Mayo Clinic in Rochester
- Dr. Bohdan Pomahac • Yale School of Medicine

Moderator:
- Dr. Rolf Barth • University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences

Webinar #4: "The International Perspective"

Presenters:
- Dr. Patrik Lassus • Helsinki University Hospital (Finland)
- Dr. Subramania Iyer • Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (India)
- Dr. Ibrahim Natalwala • Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (United Kingdom)

Moderator:
- Dr. Linda Cendales • Duke University Medical Center (United States)