Saturday, April 20, 2019

Recent innovations in organ donation

Here's a quick summary of novel (and sometimes controversial) ways to organize kidney exchange (global kidney exchange, and advanced donation vouchers), and liver transplantation (including liver exchange, and including kidneys and livers in the same exchange). It's published under the heading "CONTROVERSIES IN ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION".

Evolving  swaps  in  transplantation:  global  exchange,vouchers,  liver,  and  trans-organ  paired  exchange
Alexis  L.  Lo,  Elizabeth  M.  Sonnenberg,  and  Peter  L.  Abt
Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation
Issue: Volume 24(2), April 2019, p 161-166

Purpose of review
With the ongoing organ shortage, several mechanisms to facilitate organ exchanges and expand thescope of living kidney or liver donation have been proposed. Although each addresses at least one barrier to transplantation, these innovative programs raise important ethical, logistical, and regulatory considerations.

Recent findings
This review addresses four recent proposals to expand living donor transplantation. For kidney transplantation, we discuss global paired exchange and advanced donation programs (’vouchers’) and for liver transplantation, liver paired exchange. Lastly, this review considers trans-organ exchange. We explore the conceptual framework of the exchange, current status, benefits, and concerns for  each of these evolving pathways.

Summary
Through highlighting novel mechanisms in organ exchange, greater awareness, discussion, or support can occur to create more avenues for transplantation. These innovative mechanisms require regulations and safeguards for donors to ensure informed consent, and proper follow-up is maintained."

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