Feb. 8 - The research, published today as a reviewed preprint in eLife, was described by the editors as an important study providing solid evidence that the existing drug, SNC80, can rapidly and reversibly slow biochemical and metabolic activities while preserving cell and tissue viability. The research suggests that SNC80 not only has the potential to ensure donor organs can be preserved safely for longer ahead of transplantation, but could be used to slow the detrimental effects of tissue and organ trauma across a wide range of health emergencies.

Feb. 5 - The U.S. government is moving to tighten a regulation for the collection of human pancreases for research after a Senate committee and others complained the rule was being exploited by groups that also procure kidneys, hearts, livers and other organs for transplant.

Feb. 8 - Widespread use of stigmatizing terms online by liver transplant and rehabilitation centers in the United States may be discouraging patients from seeking treatment, leading to delayed diagnosis and impacting transplant allocation priorities, according to a new study published Thursday

Feb. 1 - In the last two decades, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine have emerged as vital interdisciplinary fields spanning biology, chemistry, engineering, and medicine. These fields aim to facilitate healing and restore lost function in damaged or diseased tissues and organs by integrating scaffolds, cells, and biological signaling molecules. This combination aims to recreate functional biological substitutes, imitating native tissues and their functions.

Feb. 2 - In the first such procedure, Vanderbilt University Medical Center has transplanted a DCD (donation after cardiac death) heart using XVIVO Heart Assist Transport (XHAT), a novel cold organ perfusion device. The transplant was completed in December 2023 under the direction of Ashish Shah, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, as part of a multi-institutional clinical trial.

Jan. 31 - Surgery to replace faulty heart valves has been possible for more than 60 years, but the treatment has medical drawbacks, both with mechanical or biological valves. But what if the body's natural repair mechanisms could be harnessed to build a living heart valve, right where it is needed? Recent studies led by researchers at Harefield Hospital and Imperial's National Heart and Lung Institute suggest that this approach is entirely possible.

Feb. 1 - Researchers of a new study have outlined considerations and management strategies for patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) undergoing kidney transplantation resulting from chronic kidney disease, a condition increasingly related to certain types of PH. They published these new findings in Turkish Journal of Nephrology.

Feb. 1 - In a small single-center phase I trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Glenn J. Hanna, MD, and colleagues found that immunosuppressant treatment with an mTOR inhibitor and prednisone plus immunotherapy with cemiplimab-rwlc resulted in durable responses and no allograft loss in adult kidney transplant recipients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.