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Articles on Organ transplantation

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An increasing number of health care decisions rely on information from algorithms. Tom Werner/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Including race in clinical algorithms can both reduce and increase health inequities – it depends on what doctors use them for

Biased algorithms in health care can lead to inaccurate diagnoses and delayed treatment. Deciding which variables to include to achieve fair health outcomes depends on how you approach fairness.
Tylenol overdose is one of the leading causes of liver injury requiring liver transplantation. Elena Merkulova/iStock via Getty Images

Helping the liver regenerate itself could give patients with end-stage liver disease a treatment option besides waiting for a transplant

Liver transplant waitlists can range from 30 days to over five years. Developing treatments that spur liver regeneration could help reduce demand for scarce organs.
A limited supply of donor organs, paired with a massive demand for transplants, has fuelled the global organ trafficking industry, which exploits poor, underprivileged and persecuted members of society as a source of organs to be purchased by wealthy transplant tourists. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Killing prisoners for transplants: Forced organ harvesting in China

China’s industrial-scale organ trafficking practice has been executing prisoners of conscience and using their organs for transplantation for decades. This is known as forced organ harvesting.
Stem cell transplants involve completely eliminating and then replacing the immune system of a patient, often by transplanting the bone marrow. xia yuan/Moment via Getty Images

Gut bacteria nurture the immune system – for cancer patients, a diverse microbiome can protect against dangerous treatment complications

Patients with blood cancer undergoing stem cell transplantation have a high risk of complications. The bacteria in their gut, however, can help their immune system recover and fight infections.
Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of cells, tissues or organs from animals to humans. Pre-clinical trials of organ transplant from pigs have addressed some of the technical barriers. (Shutterstock)

Organ transplants from pigs: Medical miracle or pandemic in the making?

New developments in organ transplants from animals show promise. However, there has been no public engagement about a potential risk. It may streamline a pathway to humans for new zoonotic diseases.
Surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, holding up the genetically modified heart that would be transplanted into David Bennett. University of Maryland School of Medicine

The journey to a pig-heart transplant began 60 years ago

David Bennett owes a debt of gratitude, not only to the surgeon’s who saved his life but to Peter Medawar, the person who discovered why organs are rejected.
Cancer and organ transplant patients, people with untreated HIV and people with other immunodeficiencies are at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection. burakkarademir/E+ via Getty Images

Immunocompromised people make up nearly half of COVID-19 breakthrough hospitalizations – an extra vaccine dose may help

People with weakened immune systems are at a high risk of severe and prolonged COVID-19 infections. An extra vaccine dose can bolster protection.
The airline industry has been cancelling routes because of the traffic drop-off during the pandemic. That has an impact on organ transplants. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

How the airline industry recovers from COVID-19 could determine who gets organ transplants

As policymakers weigh financial aid for the airline industry, they have an opportunity to help make the US organ transplantation system more equitable at the same time.
Eighty-five per cent of Ontarians support organ donation, but only one-third have opted in under the current system. (Shutterstock)

An opt-out organ donor system could address Canada’s shortage of organs for transplant

Thousands of Canadians are on waiting lists for life-saving organ transplants. An opt-out organ donor system, like the one Nova Scotia is implementing, could reduce avoidable deaths and suffering.

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