As we move into the final weeks of 2019, I’d like to personally wish you a very happy holiday season and start to the coming year.

The conclusion of one year, and the days leading up to the next are generally a time that many of us reflect on what has been achieved and what plans have been made for the year ahead, and to consider our obligations to others and what actions we can take to further contribute to our communities and to each other.

Over the year we have focused on regional needs to address the disparities that unfortunately exist in access to and quality of healthcare in different locations around the world. In this context, the China, India, and Africa Relations Committees were formed and the very first Regional Meeting of TTS was organized in Istanbul on 28-29 March, 2019. The theme of the meeting was deceased donation and its success made it clear that regional meetings should be organized on a regular basis particularly in underserved areas.

Our other scientific and educational activities have also continued full swing. Our Committees have continued to organize workshops on various topics in TTS endorsed congresses and our TTS Sections have held their biennial congresses with great success. We were also proud to welcome our newest section, Society of Pediatric Liver Transplantation (SPLIT) to TTS.

Finally, preparations are continuing for the 28th TTS Congress to be held in Seoul on September 12-16, 2020. Our Scientific Program Committee is making progress to ensure a comprehensive and innovative program. In addition, the website has been launched and abstract submission continues online at www.tts2020.org. We encourage all of you to submit your work before the submission deadline on February 18, 2020.

Finally, from all of us at TTS, I would like to wish all of you joy these holidays and a happy, healthy, and successful 2020. 

Mehmet Haberal, MD, FACS (Hon), FICS (Hon), FASA (Hon), FIMSA (Hon)
President, The Transplantation Society
On behalf of the TTS Council

Members can access the online nominating form at www.tts.org/nominations. Since each nominee must have his or her form signed by three supporting members (including him/herself), the online process allows for efficient and rapid circulation.

THE NOMINATION DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 14, 2020.

Please note:

• As successive presidents may not be from the same Region, members from the North America region who would have otherwise been eligible to become President-Elect are not eligible in these elections.
• Only full members who have served a full term on Council and have paid their dues are eligible for the Officer positions (President-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer).
• Only full members who have paid these dues are eligible to be nominated for Council.
• Only full members who have paid their dues may nominate and/or vote.
  

For more information on elections, visit the TTS website and consult the By-Laws in the “About” section.

Nominations are being sought for these positions

Officer Positions:

• President-Elect
• Secretary
• Treasurer

TTS Regions:

• Asia (2)
• Europe (1)
• Latin America (2)
• North America (2)

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NOMINATING FORM

CLICK HERE TO VIEW (OPEN ACCESS)

ISODP is pleased to partner with organizations worldwide in the launch of a new video promoting organ donation.

This message of the beauty of donation and transplantation speaks to every nation, and we hope through spreading this message more lives will be saved. Please feel free to share with your colleagues.

Dr. Faissal M. Shaheen
ISODP President

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

In order to help young members offset expenses to attend our Congress in Seoul, TTS 2020 will be offering Young Investigator Awards and International Transplantation Science Mentee-Mentor Awards. Award recipients will be selected on scientific merits (abstract submission deadline February 18, 2020).

Young Investigator Awards

To be eligible for the Young Investigator Awards, you need to apply by March 23, 2020, submit an abstract to the Congress, be a trainee (within 2 years of completion of their training and/or fellowship) and be a member of TTS.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

International Transplantation Science Mentee-Mentor Awards

TTS in collaboration with National and International Societies acknowledges the contribution of basic science to the field of transplantation by offering Mentee-Mentor awards.

To be eligible, you need to apply by March 23, 2020, submit an abstract to the Congress, be a graduate student or trainee (within 5 years of receiving PhD, MD), both Mentee and Mentor must attend TTS 2020 and be member of both TTS and confirmed supporting Societies.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you are a TTS Member, we have setup an account for you in the system. You can retrieve your login credentials in the TTS Members area of tts.org.

Available online: Precision Medicine Series, TTS-ISVCA Series, TTS-IPTA Series. Stay tuned for more webinars in 2020

STALyC 2019 Recordings now available to TTS Members!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

STALyC 2019 attendees will receive email with login information by the end of this week.

Dr. Joel Thomas Adler, Editorial Fellow, Transplantation

Delayed Implantation of Pumped Kidneys Decreases Renal Allograft Futility in Combined Liver-Kidney Transplantation

Lunsford KE, Agopian VG, Yi SG, et al.
Transplantation: Publish Ahead of Print DOI:10.1097/TP.0000000000003040

Combined liver-kidney transplantation comes with a tenuous milieu in high-acuity recipients of combined liver-kidney transplantation.  In a two-center study in the United States, delayed implantation of pumped kidneys was associated with improved patient and renal allograft survival. Despite longer cold ischemia time, this informs the debate surrounding both timing and futility of performing combined liver-kidney transplantation in high acuity recipients.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

The TTS-ILTS Paired Transplant Centers Program is a collaboration between The Transplantation Society (TTS) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) supporting new liver transplant programs in emerging countries.

VISIT WWW.TTS-ILTS.ORG FOR FULL DETAILS

Dec. 3 - A heart transplant team at Duke University became the first in the United States to transplant an adult heart into a recipient through a process known as donation after circulatory death.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dr. Dicken Ko, who helped perform the first penis transplant in the United States in 2016, was part of the surgical team that performed the testicle transplant in Belgrade.

Dec. 6 - A 36-year-old man born without testicles received one transplanted from his identical twin brother in a six-hour operation performed in Belgrade, Serbia, by an international team of surgeons.The rare operation has implications for wounded soldiers, accident victims, cancer patients and those undergoing sex reassignment.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dec. 3 - In a paper published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, a group of radiation oncologists, urologic oncologists and transplant specialists, evaluated whether transplant history alters the outcomes of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer as a result of the PSA screening test.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dec. 7 - Older multiple myeloma patients can safely undergo transplant and achieve similar clinical benefits as younger patients, according to a new study. The results also show that a standard dose of melphalan may be given safely to an older population, suggesting that more patients could benefit from transplant than typically are offered it.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dec. 5 - A donor risk index designed specifically for pediatric transplant candidates was effective in assessing risk of graft loss in living donor kidney transplantation.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE