8:15 a.m.

What’s New in Organ Allocation and Distribution, Timothy L. Pruett, MD, University of Minnesota Health

Changes in organ allocation policies were intended to decrease waitlist mortality rates and increase organ availability for ill patients. Despite these changes, however, disparities still exist. This session will address how national policy impacts transplant access and organ availability and discuss the challenges of organ donation, access, and distribution.

Learning objectives:

• State the current donor allocation system.
• Analyze how national policy impacts transplant access and organ availability.
• Discuss the challenges of organ donation, access and distribution.
• Describe how the proposed redistricting changes initiated by the Liver and Intestinal Transplant Committee would have impacted organ reallocation.

9:00 a.m.

Living Donation: Risks, Benefits and Long-Term Outcomes, Amit D. Tevar, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Living organ donation clearly saves lives and presents an opportunity to help address the critical need for organ transplants. In some circumstances it reduces recipients’ waiting times and increases opportunities for patients without living donors to receive organs from deceased donors. There are, however, a series of ethical questions that arise with living donation that need to be addressed. This session will discuss the ethical issues surrounding living donation, including the risks, benefits and long-term outcomes for living donors.

Learning objectives:

• Identify the ethical issues involved with living organ donation.
• State the risks, benefits and long-term outcomes for living donors.
• Explore the process for living donors, including evaluation, hospital stay, and long-term follow-up care.
• List the measures institutions employ to optimize care for living donors.

10:15 a.m.

Options for Advanced Heart Failure: Transplantation, Total Artificial Hearts and Mechanical Circulatory Support, Jaime D. Moriguchi, MD, Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute

Heart transplantation is the only curative therapy for chronic heart failure. However, the shortage of appropriate donor organs and the expanding pool of patients waiting for heart transplantation have led to growing interest in alternative strategies, including left-ventricular-assist-device (LVAD) therapy and total artificial hearts (TAHs). This session will describe the clinical use and long-term outcome of LVADs and discuss the challenges with assist devices as alternatives to transplantation. The use of the TAH as a bridge to transplant will also be reviewed

Learning objectives:

• Define the current applications for ventricular-assist devices and TAHs.
• Explore management strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality in heart-failure patients supported with LVADs.
• Discuss the challenges with assist devices as alternatives to transplantation and the TAH as a bridge to transplant.

11:15 a.m.

Lung Transplantation: Moving Towards a New Standard of Care, Gabriel Loor, MD, FACC, Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center

Lung transplantation has become standard therapy for patients with severe end-stage lung disease and pulmonary vascular disease. This session will discuss the epidemiology of lung transplant, donor selection, immunosuppressive therapies and complications of lung transplant. The standard of care will also be reviewed.

Learning objectives:

• Identify ways to improve the management of organ donors and donated lungs to optimize the number of lungs available for transplantation.
• Discuss best-practice strategies for incorporating technological innovations into transplant programs and centers.

1:30 p.m.
 

Precision Medicine in Cancer Care, Jonathan C. Trent, MD, PhD, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center,  University of Miami Health System

Precision medicine is defined by the tailoring of medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient and his/her disease. This session will discuss the role of precision medicine in cancer and highlight milestones in cancer therapy.

Learning objectives:

• Discuss the role of precision medicine in cancer care.

• State precision medicine milestones in cancer therapy.
• Discuss how to effectively work as an interdisciplinary team to apply precision medicine to the care of cancer patients.

2:15 p.m.

The Opioid Crisis and Its Effect on Transplant, Gregory J. McKenna, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, Baylor Scott & White Health

Organ donations have increased in the wake of America’s opioid epidemic. This session will address the opioid crisis and its effect on organ donation and transplantation.

Learning objectives:

• Discuss the opioid crisis and its effect on organ donation and transplantation.
• Examine the ethical and legal ramifications of current practices of organ procurement on potential donors who have died from drug overdose and their families.
• Discuss ethical issues surrounding the donation of organs from high-risk donors.

3:30 p.m.

The Future of Immunosuppression in Transplantation, Robert C. Harland, MD, FACS, Banner University Medical Center-Tucson

The guiding principle with immunosuppression in solid organ transplants is to achieve a balance between preventing rejection and avoiding side effects, which include various common and opportunistic infections and malignancies. This session will include a summary of immunosuppression and its future application in transplantation.

Learning objectives:

• Describe the role of immunology in transplantation.
• Discuss current strategies and future trends in transplant immunosuppression.
• State the challenges of immunosuppression and tolerance in transplantation.

4:15 p.m.

Current Disquiets of a Liver Transplant Surgeon, Michael Abecassis, MD, MBA, Northwestern University

This session will provide a glimpse into the thoughts, challenges and questions that occupy a transplant surgeon‘s mind as he or she continues to serve a growing population in need of organ transplantation.

Learning objectives:

• Explain why living donor liver transplants have not increased as expected following the Adult-to-Adult Living Donor Liver (A2ALL) Cohort Study.
• State why the eradication of hepatitis C virus is not necessarily a good thing for patients in need of liver transplantation.
• Discuss why gerrymandering could make the ‘liver wars’ of the early 90s look like a children’s game.
• Explore why having liver cancer used to be a good thing, but maybe not anymore.