IPTA 5th Congress On Pediatric Transplantation To Be Held April 18 -- 21, 2009 In Istanbul, Turkey

Main Category: Transplants / Organ Donations
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 02 Apr 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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The International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA) will welcome leaders in the field of pediatric transplantation to present at the 5th Congress of the IPTA, being held April 18 -- 21, 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Congress is a critical component in transplantation education, and the only event concentrating solely on the clinical and research aspects of pediatric solid organ, tissue, and bone marrow/stem cell transplantation.

Transplant professionals from around the world are expected to attend, looking to take advantage of the valuable information and networking opportunities presented at the meeting. The Congress will feature an outstanding line-up of plenary speakers addressing issues of common interest to the entire pediatric transplant community, including immunosuppression, ethical issues, facilitating clinical trials, treatment of long term post-transplant complications, and more.

A record number of abstracts have been submitted this year, and cutting edge scientific and clinical information will also be presented in the form of state-of-the-art presentations, interactive workshops, symposia, debates, and poster presentations. Highlights include:

Plenary Session: Non-adherence

Medication non-adherence can have negative consequences for the patient, the physician, and even the medical researchers who are working to establish the value of the medication for the target population. Patients forget to take their medications, creatively alter their medications, engage in unendorsed polypharmacy, mix their medications, and take medications in combinations that may have dire synergistic interaction effects, such as dizziness and confusion. Medication adherence presents a particularly complex issue for the transplant patient. In this session, we will take a look at factors to determine prediction, detection, prevention, and whether it may exclude a patient from re-transplantation.

Debate: If Immunosuppression is Withdrawn - Therapeutically (PTLD) or Voluntarily (Non-adherence), Should it be Restarted?

Immunosuppression after solid organ transplantation is complex. Improved therapeutic strategies have been associated with better patient and graft survival rates; however, the adverse effects associated with these agents and the risks of long-term immunosuppression present a number of challenges for the clinician. With all the successes of immunosuppressive therapies come the obligations to tailor treatments to meet the individual patient's characteristics and to balance the risks and benefits of these medications. While the short-term outcomes provided with these medications have continued to improve, the consequences of their administration have become the subject of intense scrutiny as comorbid conditions, drug toxicities, and adverse effects keenly affect both patient and graft survival. In this session, we will discuss the possibility of restarting immunosuppression treatment after it has been withdrawn either therapeutically or voluntarily.

Plenary Session: Ethical Issues

The progress achieved in organ transplantation has led to a growth in the number of potential recipients, but the shortage of organs is a relatively well-known and well-documented phenomenon, experienced by even the most technologically advanced societies. There are numerous ethical questions surrounding the donation and transplantation of organs. The success rate and the complexity of transplants, the development of drugs that reduce the risks of rejection and increase hope for survival, the creation of artificial organs or maintenance measures for patients awaiting transplants, and current work on the cloning of cells and xenografts, are ample testimony to this fact. Ethically speaking, in the context of a shortage of organs, society is called upon to make crucial decisions that concern all citizens, whether they be donors or potential recipients. Among other urgent questions is that of the acceptability of certain strategies. In this session, we will discuss various ethical issues in this complex topic.

Additional highlights of the Congress include a post-graduate course on quality of life and vaccines and viruses in transplant recipients; a symposium on how to improve the outcomes of pediatric transplantation; and plenary sessions on registry reports, organ allocation, chronic allograft dysfunction/prevalence/treatment/outcomes, and more. A complete schedule of the presentations can be accessed on the Congress Web site, http://www.iptaonline.org/5thcongress.

The International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA) is a professional organization of individuals in the field of pediatric transplantation. The purpose of the association is to advance the science and practice of pediatric transplantation worldwide in order to improve the health of all children who require such treatment. The association is dedicated to promoting technical and scientific advances in pediatric transplantation and advocating for the rights of all children who need transplantation.

For more information on IPTA and to register for the Congress, please visit http://www.iptaonline.org.

Source
International Pediatric Transplant Association

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