Aug. 22 - For Annalise Bond, a graduate student in the lab of Meghan Morrissey, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), macrophages are “the professional eaters of our immune system.” Every minute of every day, macrophages somewhere in the body are gorging themselves to remove the cellular debris that builds up in our tissues and organs.

Aug. 18 - The system for allocating most liver transplants on the NHS is causing younger patients to wait longer for surgery, figures show. There is a shortage of liver donors, so a computer algorithm decides who to prioritise on the waiting list. Younger people are currently waiting 156 days longer on average for a transplant than patients over 60. But NHS Blood and Transplant (NHS BT) says difficult decisions have to be made and the system is saving lives.

Aug. 18 - Brazil has an organ transplantation system that was the envy of many countries—but the pandemic has exposed long standing problems.

Aug. 24 - The National Institutes of Health is supporting a $12 million grant for a seven-year study of ELT. Alcohol-associated liver disease accounts for 50% of liver-related deaths, and its rates are rising worldwide. But one of the best treatment options, early liver transplantation (ELT)-; transplants done with no mandatory period of abstinence from alcohol-; is also one of the most controversial, partly because of concerns that patients will relapse to alcohol after transplantation.

Aug. 24 - As part of a trio of stories on advances in stem cell gene therapy, this piece discusses how to alter blood stem cells using mRNA technology. Previous installments describe how the same platform could reinvent how we prepare patients for bone marrow transplants and correct pathogenic DNA.

Aug. 18 - Findings from a two-year study of nearly 2,400 solid organ transplant recipients, conducted by the Johns Hopkins Transplant Research Center (TRC) in collaboration with the New York University Center for Surgical and Applied Transplant Research, indicate spikes of post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 viral infections (commonly known as COVID-19 breakthrough cases) remain common, yet hospitalization rates have dramatically dropped following the first wave of the virus’ omicron subvariant.

Aug. 18 - HIV-1-positive status should not preclude heart transplant (HT) in carefully selected individuals, according to the results of a study published in AIDS Research and Therapy. As morbidity and mortality associated with HIV have declined over the past few decades, outcomes have begun to reflect comorbidities common in aging populations. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become one of the leading causes of non-HIV related deaths in HIV-positive individuals.

Aug. 15 - Researchers from The Kidney Project hope to solve the kidney transplant public health crisis with a futuristic approach: an implantable bioartificial kidney. That hope is slowly approaching reality. Early prototypes have been tested successfully in preclinical research and clinical trials could lie ahead.

Aug. 15 - MRNA technology is ushering waves in stem cell gene therapy. A preclinical study published in Science showcases three exciting findings demonstrating how mRNA-based innovations could make treating and curing genetic blood diseases simpler and safer than the current treatment standard.

Aug. 16 - Every year, thousands of donated organs, primarily kidneys, go to waste because transplant centers decline to accept the organs for patients. This is a reality that few outside of the transplant specialty are discussing. Despite calls from many corners of government to improve the organ donation and transplantation system, the non-use of donated organs is far down the list of concerns.