by Malcolm Voyce

Received: 22 July 2020;  Published: 16 November 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2004124

This article aims to describe the relationship between donors and their recipients in the context of organ transplants. This analysis is made in the light of Marcel Mauss’s work, offering an expansion on an analysis of his discussion on the “spirit of the gift” and his idea that gifts require reciprocation. It is argued that some recipients of donated organs receive a personal element from the donor in that there is a transfer or sharing of the donors’ personality and spiritual qualities. The article examines the n [...]

by Marina Moguilevitch  and Tracey Straker

Received: 05 July 2020;  Published: 12 November 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2004123

Clinical presentation and progression of Wilson’s disease can be diverse in different groups of patients. While young children most likely to present with acute or chronic liver failure, older children and adults may exhibit extrahepatic manifestation like neuropsychiatric, cardiac, renal, pancreatic and several others. Diagnosis of Wilson’s disease is based on the combination of specific clinical findings, laboratory and genetic testing. There are different modalities of treatment available for this condition. Liv [...]

by Jessica Ferguson  , Marisa Holubar  , Waldo Concepcion  and Dora Y. Ho

Received: 24 July 2020;  Published: 09 November 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2004122

Liver transplant recipients (LTRs) are at risk for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infections which can lead to significant morbidity or mortality. Antibiotic exposure, including vancomycin, is associated with greater risk of VRE infection. This study aimed to assess the appropriateness of vancomycin use and rates of VRE infection in this population. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 327 patients who underwent liver transplantation at our center from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2017. Sixty (18.3% [...]

by Courtney Tate  , Jason P Butler  , Cameron Curley  , Siok-Keen Tey  , Glen A Kennedy  and Ashleigh P Scott

Received: 23 June 2020;  Published: 23 October 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2004121

Acquired Severe Aplastic Anaemia (SAA) is a rare bone marrow failure syndrome, for which allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a proven curative therapy. Despite excellent outcomes for matched sibling SAA recipients in terms of engraftment and survival, HSCT remains highly challenging in older matched-unrelated-donor (MUD) recipients, due to increased non-relapse mortality (NRM) from causes such as graft versus host disease (GVHD), organ failure and infection. We sought to evaluate our local HSCT [...]

by Shalika B. Katugaha  , Oksana Shlobin  , Chris King  , Steve Nathan  , Shambu Aryal  , Kareem Ahmad  and Whitney Brown

Received: 04 September 2020;  Published: 13 October 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2004120

Strongyloides stercoralis infection derived from the donor in solid organ transplant (SOT) places recipients at risk for hyperinfection syndrome and death. We describe the case of a lung transplant recipient who developed strongyloidiasis presenting with GI symptoms and progressing to diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, bacteremia and multi-organ failure. The patient's clinical course illustrates the life cycle of Strongyloides. For treatment, the patient received ivermectin and albendazole. We advocate that early diagnos [...]

by Pierpaolo Di Cocco  , Alberto Fratti  , Kerim B. Kaylan  , Ivo G. Tzvetanov  and Enrico Benedetti

Received: 22 August 2020;  Published: 28 September 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003119

This article reviews the current treatment strategies of antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplantation, which is increasingly recognized as the leading immunological cause of graft failure. The pathophysiologic complexity of this condition poses significant challenges for its treatment; however, progress toward advancing our understanding of its pathogenesis and diagnosis will allow for identification of new therapeutic targets. Emphasis is also given to prevention, which is mainly based on careful assessme [...]

by Bhagyashree Deshmankar  , Craig E. Eckfeldt  , Graf Oliver  , Aleksandr Lazaryan  and Nelli Bejanyan

Received: 19 July 2020;  Published: 18 September 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003118

Severe hypercholesterolemia is an uncommon complication of allogenic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Treatment options for hypercholesterolemia due to liver graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are limited because many antilipidemic medications are known to worsen hepatic functions. We report our experience on a case of a 38-year-old male with Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia presenting with steroid-refractory hepatic and lower gastrointestinal acute GVHD after matched sibling don [...]

by Renly Dutton  , Frank Abdi  , Levon Minnetyan  and James L. Sherley

Received: 22 April 2020;  Published: 28 August 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003117

Although tissue stem cells are essential for the maintenance, renewal, and repair of vertebrate organs and tissues, previously, the simple act of counting them has not been possible. For more than a half-century, progress in tissue stem cell research and medicine has been undermined by the lack of a means to determine tissue stem cell number. In particular, a major unmet need for stem cell transplantation medicine has been a way to quantify the specific dosage of tissue stem cell treatments. The counting problem pe [...]

by Marina Moguilevitch  , Michael Rufino  , Shalom Frager  and Tracey Straker

Received: 28 May 2020;  Published: 17 August 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003116

Liver transplant is a life-saving therapy for patients with end stage liver disease and liver cancer. Liver re-transplantation cases are usually more challenging and riskier than primary surgery, they require careful consideration and larger recourse utilization. Decision making on who receives transplantation surgery includes individual patient risks and benefits, physician judgment, specific transplant center policies, surgical experience, geographic organ availability, and ethical considerations. Several mathema [...]

by Khawla F. Ali  and Betul Hatipoglu

Received: 07 June 2020;  Published: 07 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003115

Pancreatic islet transplantation is a rapidly evolving field. It has been increasingly regarded as a promising approach for the correction of dysglycemia associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus (allogenic islet transplantation), or the prevention of surgical diabetes in chronic pancreatitis subjects undergoing total pancreatectomy (autologous islet transplantation). In this review, we discuss the latest literature pertaining to metabolic outcomes of autologous and allogenic islet transplantation, shedding close li [...]