Addressing Sex-based Disparities in Access to Solid Organ Transplantation
Addressing Sex-based Disparities in Access to Solid Organ Transplantation
Learn more about sex-based inequities in access to solid organ transplant, and join our expert panel for a discussion on identifying solutions and addressing barriers to system-wide change in the way women receive care for organ failure.
- 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
- Virtual; On-demand
Background:
Solid organ transplantation provides the best treatment for end-stage organ failure. However, sex-based disparities (favoring men) have been noted across kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplantation. Growing evidence from around the world has documented the existence of barriers to referral and wait listing for women, the pitfalls of using serum creatinine, the issue of donor/recipient size mismatch, approaches to frailty, and a higher prevalence of allosensitization among women. Importantly, actionable solutions have been identified including alterations to the current allocation system, surgical interventions on donor organs, and the incorporation of objective frailty metrics into the evaluation process. Unfortunately, little has been done to incorporate these into existing transplant care processes and systems. In this panel discussion, experts will come together to discuss the state of evidence on sex inequities in access to solid organ transplant, discuss identified solutions, and address barriers to system-wide implementation. This discussion will promote awareness of sex inequities, with a long-term goal to drive system-level change in the way women receive care for organ failure.
Objectives:
- Examine the scope and root causes of disparities in access to solid organ transplant, particularly in relation to geographic variation of the referral processes, access to living donor transplants, and availability of social support structures.
- Discuss actionable solutions to addressing sex inequities in access to organ transplantation. Identify and discuss effective ways to address the barriers to equitable care.
- Discuss barriers to system-wide implementation of actionable interventions to address sex inequities.
Speakers:
- Eileen Hsich, MD • Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, OH
- Jessica Harding, PhD • Associate Professor, Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Moderator:
- Darren Stewart, MS • Associate Director of Registry Studies, Center for Surgical & Transplant Applied Research (CSTAR), NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY
Discussant:
- Allison Kwong, MD, FAST • Assistant Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology), Stanford University, Stanford, CA
The AST Education Committee would like to thank the AST Women's Health Community of Practice (WHCOP), with support from PSECOP, LICOP, KPCOP, & TCC COPs and the IDEAL Committee for suggesting this topic as part of the 2025-2026 Timely Topics in Transplantation (T3) webinar series. Learn more about AST's COPs at www.myast.org/cops.
More about Timely Topics in Transplantation (T3) webinars:
- T3 webinars are $25.00 but free for AST members!
- All pre-registrants will have the on-demand recording automatically added to their AST account approximately 1 week after the live session.
- There is no CE available for T3 webinars.
- To learn more about upcoming T3 webinars and view past T3 archives, visit the T3 webinar series page on the myAST website.
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