Vascularized composite allotransplantation – a Council of Europe position paper

SummaryAfter more than 120 hand ‐upper extremity and 37 face transplant procedures performed worldwide, vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) now falls under the scope of organ transplant legislation in Europe and the United States. While in the USA, VCA has been considered as standard care since 2014, VCA in Europe i s still performed through clinical research trials, except in United Kingdom. However, after two decades of favourable experience with upper extremity transplantation (UET), professionals in Europe are proposing hand allotransplantation as “controlled standard” care, as opposed to face transplan tation (FT), which is still a challenging activity. The European Committee on Organ Transplantation (CD‐P‐TO) has elaborated a position paper to provide recommendations concerning regulatory aspects for UET and FT. It is aimed at Health Authorities in charge of the oversight – and coordination – of organ donation and transplantation, and at professional groups to help them manage such complex and costly programs dedicated to properly selected patients.

Source: Transplant International - November 26, 2018 Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Marie Thuong, Palmina Petruzzo, Luis Landin, Beatriz Mahillo, Simon Kay, Sylvie Testelin, Jerzy Jablecki, Karim Laouabdia ‐Sellami, Marta L. Fraga, Beatriz Dominguez‐Gil Tags: Review Source Type: research