World uro-gynecological surgical devices market is driven by the growing acceptance of minimally invasive procedures as a convenient alternative option to hysterectomy. [More]

NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital is celebrating the 25th anniversary of pediatric heart transplantation. In 1984, the Hospital's surgeons performed the world's first successful heart transplant, giving the gift of life to a 4-year-old boy. [More]

As Congress wraps up work on health care reform, members of the American Society of Transplantation's (AST) Public Policy Committee arrived on Capitol Hill today to discuss the importance of supporting a health care provision that would ensure kidney transplant recipients continue to receive. [More]

As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote on the amended health care reform package, members of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) arrived on Capitol Hill armed with a letter encouraging the Senate to adopt a health care provision that will extend Medicare's coverage of post-transplant drugs, which are critical to maintaining the health of the transplant patient. Immunosuppressive drugs are currently covered for a period of 36 months. [More]

Donate Life New England, a joint project of two federally designated organ procurement organizations that serve New England, today announced that individuals can now – for the first time – enroll online in the New England Donor Registry at www.donatelifenewengland.org. [More]

Kidneys recovered from deceased donors with acute renal failure (ARF) - once deemed unusable for transplant - appear to work just as well as kidneys transplanted from deceased donors who do not develop kidney problems prior to organ donation, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. [More]

Forbes published a package of articles and opinion pieces called "Public Vs. Private Health Care," which compares health care systems across Europe. [More]

The number of immediate considerations following the death of loved one can be daunting, but the aftermath of an unexpected death can be especially traumatic for grievers. In partnership with the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program of the U. College of Nursing has released a reference guide to assist grievers during those first hours and days following a sudden and unexpected death. [More]

A pilot study of a system for harvesting kidneys from non-heart-beating donors where attempts of resuscitation after a witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have failed (uncontrolled NHBDs) resulted in 21 successful kidney transplants - a 10% increase in the transplantation rate - over 17 months. [More]

A UK hospital that combined its bereavement and donation services saw a forty-fold increase in tissue donations, such as corneas, in just five years, according to research in the August issue of Anaesthesia. [More]

Surgical teams at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit successfully completed the first eight-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant. The transplant involved eight donors - 3 men and 5 women along with eight organ recipients - 3 men and 5 women. "All Johns Hopkins patients are in good condition and are recovering as anticipated," according to Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center. [More]

The future of organ transplantation could include microscopic beads that create "designer" immune cells to help patients tolerate their new organ, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. [More]

Although the number of blacks who are registered as organ donors in Michigan has increased in the last 15 years, many are still reluctant to be organ donors, the Detroit News reports. [More]

The globalization of health care and the growth of "transplant tourism" (traveling abroad to purchase donor organs and undergo organ transplantation) have outpaced the implementation of internationally accepted ethical standards for procurement of organs for transplantation. [More]

Timing and whether a transplant coordinator makes the request are key factors in whether relatives consent to organ donation, according to a study published on bmj.com today. [More]