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Doctors Discuss Controversial and Radical Solutions in a Bid to Alleviate the Kidney Organ Shortage

Vienna, Austria (ots/PRNewswire)

Transplant specialists from
around the world met yesterday to discuss  controversial, radical and
novel approaches to minimise the impact of the  current organ
shortage problem in a bid to help desperate patients in need  of a
kidney transplant. The full-day symposium, which opened the XX
International Congress of the Transplantation Society in Vienna,
marked the  launch of 'Controversies in Renal Transplantation'. This
is a new global  initiative supported by Fujisawa and driven by an
independent steering  committee, co-chaired by Professor Robert
Gaston of the University of  Alabama at Birmingham, USA, and
Associate Professor Jonas Wadström of the  University Hospital,
Uppsala, Sweden.
Kidney transplantation continues to be severely limited by a lack
of donors. With recent trends indicating a rapid growth in the number
of patients with end-stage renal disease requiring a kidney
transplant, it has become more important than ever to address the
controversial aspects of renal transplantation in an era of organ
shortage.
Sunday's meeting was entitled 'Controversies in Renal
Transplantation: Organ Shortage - Narrowing the Gap'. The
distinguished panel of experts drew upon existing medical literature
and their own experiences to address important and thought-provoking
questions, namely:
- Who gets a transplant, who doesn't and who shouldn't?
    - How do we define candidacy in an era of limited resources?
    - Can we more effectively manage transplant waiting lists and the
      patients on them?
    - How do we deal with donor-recipient incompatibility and
      antibody-mediated rejection?
    - Should we embrace non-heart-beating donation?
    - How far can donor criteria be extended?
    - Should recipient risk factors influence the quality of the organ
      offered?
In his closing remarks, co-chair Associate Professor Jonas
Wadström explained, "The shortage of kidneys has led the transplant
community to explore new and innovative practices and techniques to
expand the organ donor pool. Optimising donor allocation and
utilising extended-criteria donors and non-heart-beating donors are
just some of the avenues being explored to try and navigate a way
forward to help patients with end-stage renal disease".
The 'Controversies in Renal Transplantation' initiative will run
for 3 years and will comprise a series of educational meetings to be
held internationally. The goal of the programme aims to generate
discussion, education and awareness of the controversial aspects of
kidney transplantation amongst the medical community and among
patients and potential donors. This important initiative is the
latest step in Fujisawa's pioneering activities to help expand the
kidney-donor pool.
Notes to Editors:
The 'Controversies in Renal Transplantation' initiative follows a
highly successful series of meetings on innovations in living-donor
kidney transplantation, also supported by Fujisawa.
The steering committee members are: Professor R.S. Gaston
(Alabama, USA); Associate Professor J. Wadström (Uppsala, Sweden);
Professor U.A. Frei (Berlin, Germany); Professor A.J. Matas
(Minneapolis, USA); Professor M.L. Nicholson (Leicester, UK); and Dr
A. Sugitani (Fukuoka, Japan).
More information is available at www.livekidney.com or 
media@fujisawa.de
Fujisawa GmbH is a subsidiary of Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co.,
Ltd., based in Osaka, Japan. Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is
among the world's top 30 pharmaceutical companies and employs over
8000 people in Japan, Europe, North America and Asia. Since its
launch of Prograf(r) in Japan in 1993, the first in the world,
Fujisawa has become one of the world's leading transplant and
immunosuppression companies.
Fujisawa plans to maintain its commitment to transplantation, and
is dedicated both to improving the results of solid-organ
transplantation and to ensuring the health and quality of life of
patients. Prograf(r) is currently available in nearly 70 countries
and forms the centerpiece of Fujisawa's continuing growth. Additional
information on Fujisawa GmbH can be found on the Company's Web site
at www.fujisawaeurope.com.
www.fujisawaeurope.com

Contact:

Marite Ode, Fujisawa GmbH, PR+Communications, T: +49-89-45442249, F:
+49-89-45442030, media@fujisawa.de