by Rouvick M Gama  , Mysore Phanish  , Abbas Ghazanfar  and Debasish Banerjee

Received: 09 January 2023;  Published: 23 May 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302185

Despite preventative measures, including vaccination, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection may result in severe illness, particularly in immunosuppressed transplant recipients. This has had a negative impact on organ donation and transplantation rates. However, the risk of transmission from SARS-CoV-2 positive donors to kidney transplant recipients is unknown. We describe 2 cases of successful kidney transplantation from SARS-CoV-2 positive donors. Case 1: 38-year old unvaccinated fe [...]

by R. Paul Robertson

Received: 13 February 2023;  Published: 17 May 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302184

Pancreatic islet transplantation (ITx) has moved from the experimental phase of development to a position of an accepted and appropriate procedure to apply in clinical medicine. The primary indication for use of ITx is for management of dangerous and recurrent hypoglycemia secondary to use of exogenous insulin for management of hyperglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes. ITx involves procurement of a pancreas donated by a person who has died. The organ is taken to a specialized laboratory for isolation of islets [...]

by Rhythm Joshi  , Zehva Khan  , Aakriti Garg  , Nidhi  , Ubada Aqeel  , Dinesh Bhurani  and Mohd.Ashif Khan

Received: 30 September 2022;  Published: 25 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302183

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) has significantly improved the survival rates of patients suffering from hematological malignancies. However, the cure can only be achieved at the price of morbidity and long-term complications such as bone diseases leading to fractures and osteopenia. Several studies have reported the impact of organ transplants on bone metabolism, electrolytes and blood profile. This prospective observational clinical study aims at elucidating the [...]

by Amer Belal  , Shawna Lord  , Rohan V. Mehta  and Alfonso Santos

Received: 28 October 2022;  Published: 19 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302182

Cryptococcosis is a common invasive fungal infection in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR) that can be challenging to manage. We discuss a case of disseminated cryptococcosis in a transplant recipient. A 26-year-old woman with a history of ESRD from C1q nephropathy, living-related kidney transplant in early 2012, and allograft nephrectomy in 2015, received a deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT). Induction after the first transplant was anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) and maintenance immunosuppression (IS) in [...]

by Kristen R Szempruch  , Alec D Martschenko  , Harendra Arora  , Robert S Isaak  , Ravindra Prasad  , John L Schmitz  , Chuning Liu  , Fei Zou  and Pablo Serrano Rodriguez

Received: 13 February 2023;  Published: 18 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302181

Fluid management intra- and post-operatively for kidney transplant recipients (KTR) is essential to maintain adequate perfusion to the kidney. 0.9% normal saline (NS) is commonly used, but it can cause hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis, which may result in hyperkalemia and lead to delayed graft function (DGF). Plasma-Lyte A (PA) is an alternative option that has a lower amount of chloride and a neutral pH, which may offset the risk of hyperkalemia. The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of DGF in KTRs [...]

by Michelle N. Bremer  , Garrick J. Gama  , Omkar Rao  , Eugene Golts  , Deepa Kurup  , Aarya Kafi  , Christine M. Lin  , Gordon Yung  and Kamyar Afshar

Received: 28 November 2022;  Published: 10 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302180

Race, while a social construct, has a strong effect on a person’s health. There is limited data on racial disparities within lung transplantation (LTx), especially for Hispanic recipients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify inequalities that may involve this population. We analyzed historical data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and performed a retrospective review of Hispanic and Caucasian patients who underwent lung transplantation in the United States between May [...]

by Suresh Keshavamurthy  and Cody Russell

Received: 11 January 2023;  Published: 04 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2302179

A boundless spectrum of chronic lung diseases is said to effect over 500 million persons globally. Lung transplantation is a well-established therapeutic option for patients suffering from end-stage lung diseases, however waitlist mortality and primary graft failure remain major determinants as post-transplantation 5-year survival is just above 50 percent. Recent innovations in lung transplantation have been aimed at increasing organ availability, improving allograft quality, function, and longevity. Ex-vivo Lung P [...]

by Leona A. Holmberg  , Michael Linenberger  and Laura Connelly-Smith

Received: 06 May 2022;  Published: 30 March 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301178

RICE is salvage therapy for treating CD20+non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). It is combined with G-CSF to collect autologous peripheral blood stem cells (aPBSC). Little data exists, though, on the combination of G-CSF and Plerixafor after RICE in mobilizing adequate number of CD34 cells and the product’s immune content. We report on the results of twenty CD20+ NHL patients after RICE, G-CSF and Plerixafor were given to collect aPBSC. The median number of cells collected was 12.92 × 106 CD34 cells/kg (range 5.4 [...]

by Kamyar Afshar  , Michelle N Bremer  , Deepa Kurup  , Michael Bernales  , Elizabeth Schonhoft  , Luis Santana  , Caro Davila  , Gina Schooler  , Gordon Yung  , Travis Pollema  and Eugene Golts

Received: 07 November 2022;  Published: 14 March 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301177

Lung transplant (LTx) survival and quality of life have been steadily improving, partially from changes in candidate selection for transplantation. There are well-known high-risk factors that lead to poor LTx outcomes, which may be referred to as ‘accounted’ risks. However, there are also other ‘unaccounted’ risks that are not included in the existing model for expected LTx survival to help programs for resource allocation. We performed a retrospective cohort study of all LTx recipients over the age of 18 at UC San [...]

by Deepika Razia  , Ashraf Omar  , Katherine Grief  , Rajat Walia  and Sofya Tokman

Received: 20 November 2022;  Published: 01 March 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301176

Careful selection of lung transplant (LT) recipients with cystic fibrosis (CF) may improve outcomes; therefore, we studied the impact of sex and age at the time of LT on long-term survival of patients with CF. LT recipients with CF who received post-LT care at our center between July 1, 2007 and April 30, 2021 were included. The primary outcome was death or retransplantation. Cox proportional hazard analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method were used. Of 59 included LT recipients, the median age at first LT was 28 (22, [...]

by Alfonso H. Santos  , Amer Belal  , Hisham Ibrahim  and Muhannad A. Leghrouz

Received: 19 August 2022;  Published: 21 February 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301175

We aimed to identify the non-renal risk factors for simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation (SLKT) vs. liver transplantation alone (LTA) in end-stage liver disease (ESLD) patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min, not on dialysis. Using organ procurement and transplantation network data, we studied adult ESLD patients who received deceased-donor SLKT or LTA in July 2002-Mar 2016 with a 4-point modification of renal disease (MDRD) equation-estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) s [...]

by Michelle F. Sener  , Thaddeus Rogozinski  , James S. George  , Deepak Mital  and Douglas P. Slakey

Received: 08 November 2022;  Published: 29 January 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301174

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most common infection affecting kidney transplant recipients [1]. CMV may be present as asymptomatic viremia or with symptoms ranging from mild to significant tissue-invasive disease [1,2,3]. Optimal kidney graft function and survival requires that transplant care teams carefully assess individual patient risk of CMV [2,3]. Appropriate patient surveillance and prophylaxis are essential to ensure the best long-term kidney transplant results. Effective treatment of CMV disease r [...]

by Ashwini Arjuna  , Deepika Razia  , Devika Sindu  , Michael T. Olson  , Lara Schaheen  , Ross M. Bremner  , Rajat Walia  and Kendra McAnally

Received: 25 October 2022;  Published: 06 January 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301173

Few reports have described successful lung transplantation from a donor with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and outcomes beyond 3 to 6 months remain unknown. After weighing the urgency and life-saving benefits of lung transplantation against the risk of viral transmission, we successfully performed a bilateral lung transplant from a donor with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection with mild symptoms 2 months before donation. At 1 year after transplant, there is no evidence of donor-derived viral transmission, and allo [...]

by OBM Transplantation Editorial Office

Received: 04 January 2023;  Published: 04 January 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2301172

The editors of OBM Transplantation would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2022. We greatly appreciate the contribution of expert reviewers, which is crucial to the journal’s editorial process. We aim to recognize reviewer contributions through several mechanisms, of which the annual publication of reviewer names is one. Reviewers receive a voucher entitling them to a discount on their next LIDSEN publication and can download a certificate of recog [...]

by Braulio A. Marfil-Garza  and Tatsuya Kin

Received: 11 December 2022;  Published: 19 December 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2204171

by Alma Rechnitzer  , Richard Teo  , Abigail Brooks  , Juan P. Rocca  , Nidal A. Mudhi  , Julia Torabi  , Maria Ajaimy  , Luz Liriano-Ward  , Yorg Azzi  , Cindy Pynadath  , Pablo Loarte-Campos  , Enver Akalin  , Marie E. Le  , Milan M. Kinkhabwala  and Jay A. Graham

Received: 06 September 2022;  Published: 21 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2204170

The 2014 Pancreas Allocation System established national qualifying criteria for simultaneous kidney pancreas (SPK) transplantation. The 2019 UNOS Pancreas Transplantation Committee Policy 11.3.B modified these guidelines to expand transplantation. Subsequent effects on recipient demographics have not been studied. We analyzed 81 SPK transplantations performed at our center from June 2014 to December 2020 to compare recipient demographics and outcomes before and after the 11.3.B policy change. National data were al [...]

by Katarina Tomulic Brusich

Received: 30 August 2022;  Published: 15 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2204169

Transplantation is a widely accepted and successful life-saving treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients. However, transplant medicine still faces a number of obstacles. One of the most significant is the large disparity between the number of donors and recipients and the growing need for re-transplantation. In the last two decades, the improvement and organization of the national transplantation program in Croatia have resulted in a steadily increasing donor rate and therefore the transplantation numbers. A [...]

by Ana Paula Leopercio  , Christini Emori  , Elisabete Calore Neiva  , Ana Lucia Silva Souza  , Ana Cristina Amaral  , Gustavo Almeida Vieira  , Raimundo Araujo Gama  , Jose Osmar Medina-Pestana  and Maria Lúcia Ferraz

Received: 22 June 2022;  Published: 26 October 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2204168

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is frequent among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). HBV reactivation after kidney transplant (KT) is more common in patients with HBsAg+; however, it can also occur in previously infected individuals, particularly those with HBsAg negative and total antiHBc positive (HBsAg-/antiHBcT+). However, reactivation in this population has scarce and conflicting data. This study aimed to assess the reactivation risk in KT recipients with previous HBV infection (antiHBcT+). A retros [...]

by OBM Transplantation Editorial Office

Received: 09 October 2022;  Published: 17 October 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2204167

by Nicholas J. Geraghty  , Amal Elhage  , Peter Cuthbertson  , Debbie Watson  and Ronald Sluyter

Received: 06 June 2022;  Published: 06 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2203166

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a curative therapy for hematological malignancies, but its efficacy is limited by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). This life-threatening disorder develops when donor (graft) immune cells cause inflammatory damage to recipient (host) tissues. The immune cell receptor channel P2X7 and its ligand adenosine 5’-triphosphate (ATP) have been implicated in GVHD pathogenesis. Therefore, this signaling axis represents a potential therapeutic target. This study aime [...]

by Kurumi Taniguchi  , Haruka Sawamura  , Yuka Ikeda  , Ai Tsuji  and Satoru Matsuda

Received: 02 May 2022;  Published: 30 August 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2203165

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a standard form of cellular therapy for patients suffering from malignant hematological diseases. However, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a very serious complication and a major cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic HSCT. Calcineurin inhibitors, such as cyclosporine, are widely used to enhance the survival of patients who have undergone HSCT. Unfortunately, both GVHD and cyclosporine occasionally cause nephropathy. Several studies have shown that th [...]

by Ginevra G Adamo  , Sergio D'Angelo  , Angeli Christy Yu  , Marco Pellegrini  , Federico Bernabei  , Vincenzo Scorcia  and Giuseppe Giannaccare

Received: 17 June 2022;  Published: 02 August 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2203164

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication that may occur in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). GVHD occurs because of the immunological reaction between the donor’s T cells and the recipient’s antigens; GVHD may develop in different tissues, including the eye. Corneal perforation is an uncommon but vision-threatening manifestation of GVHD. We reported the case of a 65-year-old male patient who developed corneal perforation sequentially in both eyes 3 years afte [...]

by Ibrahim El-Serafi  , Sandra Oerther  , Ying Zhao  and Moustapha Hassan

Received: 08 July 2022;  Published: 27 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2203163

Cytochrome P450 2J2 (CYP2J2) is one of the recently discovered enzymes that is involved in the metabolism of several drugs. It is mainly an extrahepatic enzyme which can, to some extent, explain some the drugs’ side effects such as cyclophosphamide (Cy). Cyclophosphamide is an alkylating agent that is commonly used in conditioning prior to stem cell transplantation. It is a prodrug that is bio-activated by several CYPs including CYP2J2. Cy is known to have several side effects and its extrahepatic activation by CYP [...]

by Maïté Van Hentenryck  , Zhanzhuo Li  , Philip M. Murphy  and Agnieszka Czechowicz

Received: 24 November 2021;  Published: 08 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2203162

The ability to successfully transplant cells and organs from a donor into an immunologically disparate recipient is one of the greatest treatment advances in the history of medicine. Nevertheless, acute and chronic rejection, graft versus host disease, and the inability to identify suitable donors continue to be challenges and limit broader application of cell and organ transplantation to the many patients that could benefit. Immunosuppression before and after allogeneic transplant has been found to dramatically im [...]

by OBM Transplantation Editorial Office

Received: 01 July 2022;  Published: 03 July 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2203161