2 March 2010 European Diploma in Transplantation Surgery
Please click here for details regarding the 4th exam for awarding the European Diploma in Transplantation Surgery
4 February 2010 Swine Flu Resources from the Department of Health
Swine Flu Vaccination - What you need to know.
Information for parents of children over six months and under five years old.
20 November 2009 Legal Issues Relevant to Non-Heartbeating Organ Donation
On 20 November, the Department of Health published web-based guidance on their website clarifying the legal position in England and Wales around non heartbeating donation with the aim of helping to increase the potential for organ donation. This is in response to Recommendation 3 of the Organ Donation Taskforce Report which states that 'urgent attention is required to resolve outstanding legal, ethical and professional issues in order to ensure that all clinicians are supported and are able to work within a clear and unambiguous framework of good practice.
Please click here to view the Guidance
12 November 2009 I Hope You Know
My name is Sarah Springett and this week I have launched a high profile campaign to raise awareness about organ donation using the music of my band The Floe, having been a live kidney donor for my boyfriend Paul exactly one year ago this week.
We (The Floe) released a single yesterday (09.11.09), called 'I Hope You Know', and we hope to encourage every person who downloads/buys the track to sign the NHS Organ Donor Register, if they haven't already done so. All profits are being donated to The Transplant Trust.
The 'home' of the campaign is: www.ihopeyouknow.co.uk
We would really appreciate the support of the wider transplant community in backing our campaign and I am sure that this topic is something which is incredibly close to the hearts of the people you are in touch with.30 October 2009 NHSBT Launch First National Organ Donation Campaign
NHSBT are launching the first national organ donation campaign on 2 November on television, radio, online and press. Marketing materials to support the campaign (posters, leaflets and a web button) will be available to download. Please use the opportunity to encourage more people to sign up to the Organ Donor Register.
05 October 2009 Consultation on Liver Allocation in the UK
The British Transplantation Society have been invited by the Liver Advisory Group of ODT at NHSBT to contribute to the consultation on liver allocation in the UK. A covering letter from Dr Alex Gimson along with two associated documents are available below. Derek Manas has kindly agreed to coordinate a response on behalf of the Society so please send him your comments by the end of October to derek.manas@nuth.nhs.uk
Letter from Dr Alex Gimson
Allocation Process Overview
Development of a Liver Allocation Scheme
05 October 2009 Guidance - Influenza Pandemic
The British Transplantation Society has not produced any specific guidance on managing transplant services or transplant patients during a flu pandemic. However your attention is drawn to a number of helpful documents produced by other professional groups. In addition the Department of Health website is an important source of current guidance and information.
‘Briefing and guidance for adult renal units in the UK during an influenza pandemic’ - Renal Association
‘Pandemic Influenza Plan’ – NHSBT
‘Advice Concerning Organ Donation and H1N1 (Swine) Flu’ – SaBTO
‘Support for NHS Staff working in Exceptional Circumstances’ – Intensive Care Society
‘H1N1 influenza in the Transplant Population’ – The Transplantation Society
15 September 2009 Human Tissue Authority Media Release
HTA launch revised codes of practice and an additional new code for research. To view the press release, please click here
The Codes of Practice can be found at www.hta.gov.uk/legislationpoliciesandcodesofpractice/codesofpractice.cfm
31 July 2009 BTS Press Release on Organ Allocation
BTS press release in response to the Independent report published on deceased donor organ allocation system for Non-UK residents. To view the press release, please click here.
14 July 2009 Support for Organ Donation at the Wall of Life
Transplants save and transform lives every day in the UK, with over 3500 being carried out last year. While this is the highest annual number to date, more than 10,000 people currently need a transplant in this country, of whom 1000 - 3 a day - will die every year waiting for an organ.
The Wall of Life is an interactive campaign to promote organ donation which enables people to demonstrate their support at www.walloflife.org.uk by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR) and then loading a photo and message on to the site. Launched as part of the UK-wide campaign to promote public awareness of and support for organ donation, the site aims to reach a broad online community and harness the potential of social networking to spread the message.
I am writing to ask you to show your support for organ donation by adding your photo and message to the Wall of Life. Instructions as to how to join the ODR and upload your photo and message on the Wall of Life are given on the site.
The Wall of Life is also intended as a celebration of the 16 million people how have already shown their commitment to organ donation by signing up to the ODR. The site shows two year-old Louisa McGregor-Smith whose life was saved by a heart transplant in 2007 when she was only five months old. People uploading their photos help to create the online mosaic of Louisa and build the Wall of Life.
We need at least 60,000 images to build the Wall of Life, so hope that people joining the Wall of Life will forward the link to their families and friends and display a personalised widget on their social profiles and websites to spread the campaign online.
26 June 2009 Latest NICE Guidance on Corneal Transplantation
More information can be found at http://www.nice.org.uk/IP304
