TIM3+ TRBV11-2 T cells and IFNγ signature in patrolling monocytes and CD16+ NK cells delineate MIS-C.

In rare instances, pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infection results in a novel immunodysregulation syndrome termed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). We compared MIS-C immunopathology with severe COVID-19 in adults. MIS-C does not result in pneumocyte damage but is associated with vascular endotheliitis and gastrointestinal epithelial injury.

Dominant-negative mutations in human IL6ST underlie hyper-IgE syndrome.

Autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome (AD-HIES) is typically caused by dominant-negative (DN) STAT3 mutations. Patients suffer from cold staphylococcal lesions and mucocutaneous candidiasis, severe allergy, and skeletal abnormalities. We report 12 patients from 8 unrelated kindreds with AD-HIES due to DN IL6ST mutations.

Unprecedentedly High Dust Ingestion Estimates for the General Population in a Mining District of DR Congo.

The mining of metals in low income countries is often associated with high exposure to dust that contributes to metal exposure. Here, dust ingestion estimates were made from fecal excretion of inert tracers with corrections for dietary contribution. The study took place in the cobalt mining area of Lubumbashi (DR Congo) and involved 120 nonoccupationally exposed participants in the dry season, with 51 of these being repeated in the rainy season.

Potential for deceased donation not optimally exploited: donor action data from six countries.

Background: Most countries today promote living donation as an alternative to challenge the organ shortage from deceased donors. This seems justifiable provided the potential for deceased donation is optimally exploited.

Methods: We used the Donor Action (DA) Medical Record Review (MRR) methodology in six countries, to measure whether the potential for heart-beating (HB) deceased donors was adequately converted to donation.

Worldwide variability in deceased organ donation registries.

The variability in deceased organ donation registries worldwide has received little attention. We considered all operating registries, where individual wishes about organ donation were recorded in a computerized database. We included registries which recorded an individual's decision to be a donor (donor registry), and registries which only recorded an individual's objection (non-donor registry).

The European experience.

This mini-review on European experiences with tackling the problem of organ shortage for transplantation was based on a literature review of predominantly European publications dealing with the issue of organ donation from deceased donors. The authors tried to identify the most significant factors that have demonstrated to impact on donation rates from deceased donors and subsequent transplant successes. These factors include legislative measures (national laws and European Directives), optimization of the donation process, use of expanded criteria donors, innovative preservation and surgical techniques, organizational efforts, and improved allocation algorithms.

Critical Care staffs' attitudes, confidence levels and educational needs correlate with countries' donation rates: data from the Donor Action database.

To investigate on the impact of Critical Care (CC) staffs' attitudes to donation, their acceptance of the brain death (BD) concept, their confidence with donation-related tasks and educational needs on national donation rates. Donor Action (DA) Hospital Attitude Survey (HAS) data were collected from 19 537 CC staff in 11 countries, including personal attitudes to donation, self-reported knowledge, involvement and comfort levels with donation-related tasks and educational requirements. Countries' donation performance was expressed as Procurement Efficiency Index (PEI) (organs procured and transplanted/deaths from eligible causes).

Donation patterns in four European countries: data from the donor action database.

Background: To analyze heart-beating organ donation patterns in four countries using the Donor Action (DA) Program nationally and to identify areas for improvement.

Methods: Medical Record Review (MRR) of 18,118 critical care deaths between January 2006 and December 2007 in Belgium, Finland, France, and Switzerland. Data were entered to the DA System Database for analysis.

Donation after uncontrolled cardiac death (uDCD): a review of the debate from a European perspective.

Presumed consent alone will not solve the organ shortage, but it will create an ethical and legal context that supports organ donation, respects individuals who object to organ donation, relieves families from the burden of decision making, and can save lives.

An analysis of critical care staff's attitudes to donation in a country with presumed-consent legislation.

Context: Lack of knowledge and confidence among critical care staff in identifying potential donors and communicating with donor families may explain missed organ and tissue donations.

Objectives: To elucidate attitudes of critical care staff toward donation and their knowledge, involvement, and self-reported skills and confidence levels with donation-related tasks.

Methods: Between January 2004 and May 2006, Donor Action Foundation's Hospital Attitude Survey was used to collect data from staff members in critical care units in our university hospital (study group) and 2 other Belgian university hospitals (control group).

Waiting for a thoracic transplant in Eurotransplant.

The prospects of patients on the thoracic waiting list are governed by the chance of receiving an organ in time and by the outcome of the transplantation. The former probability is determined by a triad of disease severity, resource size and allocation rules. The aim of this study was to provide an objective description of the distributional effects of the thoracic allocation system in Eurotransplant.

Cost-effectiveness of organ donation: evaluating investment into donor action and other donor initiatives.

Initiatives aimed at increasing organ donation can be considered health care interventions, and will compete with other health care interventions for limited resources. We have developed a model capable of calculating the cost-utility of organ donor initiatives and applied it to Donor Action, a successful international program designed to optimize donor practices. The perspective of the payer in the Canadian health care system was chosen.

Joining efforts in tackling the organ shortage: the Donor Action experience.

1. Donor Action takes a systematic approach towards achieving quality assurance in the whole donation process. It is designed to give hospitals participation and ownership of donation practices that can be tailored to meet identified needs in critical care units (CCUs).

Cost-benefit approach in evaluating investment into donor action: the German case.

Donor Action (DA) is an international initiative to help critical care units (CCUs) increase their own donation rates through improved-quality donation practices. Following a validated diagnostic review (DR), areas of weakness can be identified, and the appropriate changes introduced. Data gathered from a number of centers in nine European countries (including Germany) 1 year after the introduction of targeted improvement measures demonstrated a 59.

How to improve organ donation: results of the ISHLT/FACT poll.

Background: Worldwide organ shortages remain a long-standing problem. Efforts to address this have ranged from attempts to improve public awareness to modified mandated choice systems; most have been unsuccessful. In the face of this intractable problem, increased consideration has been given to direct and indirect compensation, and in certain countries, black markets for organs have developed.

Donor Action: an international initiative to alleviate organ shortage.

Context: Donor Action, an international initiative to alleviate organ shortage, provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art methodology that helps critical care units develop a tailor-made approach to optimize donation practices and performance.

Objective: To report the impact of the Donor Action methodology on organ donation rates in 8 countries (70 critical care units) in North America and Europe.

Design: Baseline data on the clinical potential for donation, staff attitudes, knowledge toward donation, self-reported confidence in performing a range of donation roles, and educational requirements were gathered.

Inferior outcome of cadaveric kidneys preserved for more than 24 hr in histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution. Leuven Collaborative Group for Transplantation.

Background: During recent years, an increasing number of transplant centers within the Eurotransplant organization have used histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) solution instead of University of Wisconsin (UW) solution as their preferred cold storage solution for abdominal organ preservation. We report on our single-center experience on the outcome of imported kidneys preserved with either HTK or UW solution in relation to the duration of cold ischemia time (CIT).

Methods: Between July 1989 and July 1997, 323 cadaveric kidneys preserved with UW or HTK and imported as a result of an exchange within the Eurotransplant organization were transplanted at our institution.