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A team of doctors at Duke University has carried out the first donation after circulatory (or cardiac) death (DCD) heart transplant in the U.S. Members of the surgical team have spoken with the press giving some details of the procedure. Over the past several decades, heart transplants have become routine—saving the lives of thousands of people. But in recent years, […]
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A growing need for tissues and organs in surgical reconstruction is addressed by the promising field of tissue engineering. For instance, muscle atrophy results from severe traumatic events including deep burns and cancer, requiring site/donor compatible surgical reconstruction. The existing ‘gold standard’ treatment in reconstructive surgery incorporates autologous flaps, although the technique is limited by low anatomical availability and donor […]
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Obese patients who underwent a life-saving liver transplant and weight-loss surgery at the same time were better able to keep the weight off long term and had fewer metabolic complications than those who lost weight on their own before undergoing a liver transplant, Mayo Clinic research shows. The findings were recently published in Hepatology. “This study shows that the combined […]
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South Africa has a dire shortage of organ donors. This means that doctors struggle to find suitable donor organs for critically ill patients who would die without receiving a transplant. Sometimes they have to make tough calls such as using a blood group incompatible organ to save a patient’s life – even if this comes with additional risk. About a […]
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Transplanting hepatitis C (HCV)-infected dialysis patients with organs from HCV-positive donors and then treating the infection after transplantation is more effective, costs less and will shorten wait times for donated organs, according to a computer analysis conducted by physician-researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine. The findings are available online in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The […]
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The European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute at Cardiff University has shed light on the link between skin cancer development and kidney transplants, highlighting the importance for clinicians to monitor transplant patients for these virus-induced cancers. In patients who lack the protection of their immune system, viruses like HPV can spread and cause cancer unchecked. This means that those receiving […]
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