Transplantation

Medicines management in adult patients undergoing liver transplantation

Medication regimes for patients undergoing liver transplantation can be complex, meaning pharmacists must consider how best to optimise medicines and manage side effects.…

Haematopoietic stem cell transplant in children

This article outlines the pharmacist’s role during haematopoietic stem cell transplant in children and uses Great Ormond Street Hospital as an example to explore the patient journey and actions of the multidisciplinary team, specifically highlighting those of the pharmacist.…

Organ donation law and transplantation management in the UK

Pharmacists should be aware that the law around organ donation changed in England in May 2020 and will change in Scotland from March 2021, and should understand the implications this has on practice and for patients.…

Inotuzumab ozogamicin improves chances in patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia that has relapsed after treatment are almost four times as likely to go into remission and have a potentially curative stem cell transplant following treatment with a new antibody drug conjugate.…

Gene therapy for ‘bubble boy’ syndrome on track for EU approval

Children with an extremely rare immune deficiency disease are set to have access to gene therapy, following a recommendation for approval by the European Medicines Agency.…

FDA approves first treatment for stem cell transplant patients who develop rare liver condition

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for hepatic veno-occlusive disease, a rare and life threatening liver condition that can develop in cancer patients who undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.…

Belatacept improves long-term outcomes in kidney transplantation

Kidney transplant patients treated with belatacept showed a 43% reduction in risk of death or graft loss.…

Transplant antifungal drug voriconazole associated with increased skin cancer risk

Antifungal drug voriconazole increases the risk of developing skin cancer by 73% in lung transplant patients given the drug to prevent infection with Aspergillus, according to research published in the American Journal of Transplantation.…

Hodgkin’s lymphoma therapy improves survival in hard-to-treat cases

Brentuximab vedotin (BV) has shown “remarkable” efficacy when used after autologous stem-cell transplantation in patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.…

A rough guide to transplant medicines

The number of solid organ transplants performed in the UK each year continues to increase. This article gives an overview of transplantation and medicines used in the UK.…