New Online Resource Provides Organ Transplant Recipients With Information To Help Them Achieve Long-Term Wellness

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 26 Jul 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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HealthyTransplant.com, a new, user- friendly online resource designed to provide comprehensive information and ongoing support for transplant recipients was introduced today at the World Transplant Congress (WTC). Healthy Transplant was developed for the American Society of Transplantation (AST) by a panel of leading transplant professionals as a set of health and life tools for transplant recipients and their caregivers to enhance post-transplant care and long-term well-being for transplant recipients.

"Successful transplantation care reflects the coordinated efforts of our patients and a team of healthcare professionals. Every transplant recipient has a different experience and follows a different timeline for returning their lives to what one patient very accurately called a 'new normal'," said Jay Fishman, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Transplant Infectious Disease & Compromised Host Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Chairman of the Healthy Transplant Program. "HealthyTransplant.com provides patients and caregivers with the information they need from pre-transplant to post-operative care in one comprehensive resource."

In March 2005, the AST hosted a one-day, invitation-only forum for leading transplant professionals to discuss long-term care and wellness issues for organ transplant recipients. The meeting, "Enhancing Wellness: Lifelong Success for the Transplant Patient," was the first planning session of its kind. More than 35 transplant physicians, surgeons, coordinators, nurses, pharmacists and social workers participated in that meeting and worked over the last year to develop the Healthy Transplant program.

"Twenty years ago, our primary goal was getting transplant recipients through complex transplantation surgery and avoiding graft rejection. Today, with major advances in the field of transplantation, our patients are living longer and need more information on how to achieve long-term wellness and to enhance the quality of their lives," said Dr. Fishman. "The Healthy Transplant Program was developed to provide transplant recipients and their caregivers with some of the tools they need for long-term success in a user-friendly format."

Healthy Transplant provides easy-to-find, practical information in areas of interest to users including: understanding graft rejection and taking steps to avoid it; recognizing and avoiding infection; enhancing quality of life; adhering to prescribed medication schedules, diet and exercise programs and clinic visits; and effective communication with the transplant team. Resources such as downloadable reference lists and customizable charts were designed to help transplant recipients maintain healthy routines.

The Healthy Transplant Program is made possible by an educational grant from Astellas Pharma US, Inc.

About AST

The American Society of Transplantation is an international organization of transplant professionals dedicated to advancing the field of transplantation through the promotion of research, education, advocacy, and organ donation to improve patient care. The Society comprises more than 2,500 transplant physicians, surgeons and allied health professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.a-s-t.org/.

American Society of Transplantation (AST)
http://HealthyTransplant.com
http://www.a-s-t.org/

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