TTS President Professor Mehmet Haberal continues his efforts on engaging the global transplant community on more regional and local levels.

In an effort to encourage further collaboration and to answer the needs of these regions, Professor Haberal was invited as Guest of Honor to the Symposium on “Deceased Organ Donation: Regional Problems” that was held in Aktobe, Kazakhstan on December 12, 2019. The meeting was endorsed by the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, with the leadership of Aktobe Region Minister of Health Prof. Asset Kaliyev.

The Opening Ceremony of the congress drew hundreds of participants and was attended by the Governer Ondassin Urazalin who has presented Professor Haberal with a medallion specially designed for the 150th Anniversary of the Aktobe Region (Photo 1 and 2).

Photo 1: Governor Ondassin Urazalin presents Prof. Haberal with a medallion specially designed for the 150th Anniversary of the Aktobe Region.

Photo 2.

In his keynote speech, Professor Haberal drew attention to the importance of deceased organ donation to combat unethical and illegal transplant practices worldwide. In his opening remarks, Ministry of Health Organ Transplantation Director Sandugaj Orunbayeva extended his appreciation for the important contributions that Prof. Haberal had made to the Republic of Kazakhstan and presented him with a certificate of appreciation and Prof. Haberal presented the Director with a plaque commemorating the congress.

Photo 3: Hundreds of attendees during Prof. Haberal’s speech at the Aktobe Hospital and Medical Center.

Following the scientific sessions, Professor Haberal visited the hospitals in the region and gave recommendations for further steps.  After these visits, he was welcomed at the Aktobe Medical Center and lectured to an audience of more than 5000 who greeting him with great fondness and gratitude.  Following his lecture, the President of the Aktobe Medical Center, Prof. Murat Teleuov, presented Prof. Haberal with Honorary Professorship of the Aktobe Medical University with a speech thanking Prof. Haberal once again for his efforts for the people of Kazakhstan (Photo 4 and 5).

Realizing that education, training, and knowledge-sharing is essential for transplant programs to flourish, an agreement between Baskent University and the Aktobe Medical University was signed at the end of Prof. Haberal’s visit.

Photo 4: Prof. Haberal lectured to an audience of more than 5000 people at the Aktobe Medical University.

Photo 5: President of the Aktobe Medical Center, Prof. Murat Teleuov, presented Prof. Haberal with Honorary Professorship of the Aktobe Medical University.

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.

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

Dr. Joel Thomas Adler, Editorial Fellow, Transplantation

Does Racial Disparity in Kidney Transplant Wait-listing Persist After Accounting for Social Determinants of Health?

Ng Y, Pankratz VS, Leyva Y, et al.
Transplantation: Publish Ahead of Print DOI: 10.1097/TP.0000000000003002

In the United States, African Americans have a lower rate of kidney transplantation compared to Whites. Ng and colleagues followed a cohort of 1055 and found significant differences in social determinants of health; even after adjusting for both demographic factors as well as social determinants of health, African Americans were 25% less likely to be waitlisted than Whites. Developing better interventions to actually target the root causes may enhance equity in access to transplantation.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

CLICK HERE TO VIEW (OPEN ACCESS)

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

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.

Dec. 11 - University of Illinois at Chicago research finds that robotic kidney transplants for obese patients result in survival outcomes comparable to those in nonobese patients. The study highlights 10 years' worth of data from some 230 robotic-assisted kidney transplants in patients with obesity conducted at University of Illinois Health hospitals.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dec. 12 - Four years after a bone marrow transplant, all the DNA in the patient’s semen had been replaced by that of his donor. This came as a surprise to forensic scientists at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department in Reno, Nev., studying the case.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dec. 13 - Heart transplant patients who live in areas with high levels of air pollution had a 26% higher risk of mortality due to infection in a recent study of nearly 22,000 patients in the U.S. The study, led by senior author Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD, a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio, included data from 21,800 patients enrolled in the United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Dec. 10 - All-cause mortality risk after a simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation is lower than kidney transplantation alone among adults with type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE