Organ transplant

An organ transplant is the transplantation of a whole or partial organ from one body to another, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor. Organ donors can be living, or deceased (previously referred to as cadaveric).

Recent Developments

Steroid-Free Immunosuppression

Steroid-free immunosuppression is being pioneered on large scale with use of Campath-1H (a humanized monoclonal antibody developed at Cambridge Pathology Laboratories) induction at Northwestern University in Chicago and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. This would avoid the side-effects of steroids. While short-term outcomes are outstanding, long-term outcomes are still unknown.

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Calcineurin-Inhibitor-Free Immunosuppression

Calcineurin-Inhibitor-Free Immunosuppression is currently undergoing extensive trialing, the result of which would be to allow sufficient immunosuppression, without the nephrotoxicity associated with standard regimens that include calcineurin inhibitors. Positive results have yet to be demonstrated in any trial.

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Paired-Donor Exchange

Paired-donor exchange, led by work in the New England OPO region as well as at Johns Hopkins University and the Ohio OPOs may more efficiently allocate organs and lead to more transplants.

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