[Editorial].

The main objective of the Italian National Transplant Center (CNT) is to increase the number, the quality and the safety of transplants by promoting special programs in cooperation with Italian Regions. Data show that the number of deceased subjects that are reported for organ or tissue donation is largely lower than it could potentially be, and that great variations exist among different Regions. In order to increase the number of performed transplants, the CNT is planning to move in three main directions: (1) promoting transplants from deceased donors, (2) promoting transplants from living donors and (3) optimising the way organs are stored, distributed and utilised across the country.

Building Kidney Exchange Programmes in Europe-An Overview of Exchange Practice and Activities.

Background: Considerable differences exist among the living donor Kidney Exchange Programmes (KEPs) that are in use and being built in Europe, contributing to a variation in the number of living donor transplants (Newsletter Transplant; International figures on donation and transplantation 2016). Efforts of European KEPs to exchange (best) practices and share approaches to address challenges have, however, been limited.

Methods: Experts from 23 European countries, collaborating on the European Network for Collaboration on Kidney Exchange Programmes Cooperation on Science and Technology Action, developed a questionnaire to collect detailed information on the functioning of all existing KEPs in Europe, as well as their opportunities and challenges.

[Italian Registry Dialysis and Transplant 2011-2013].

Unlabelled: The Italian Registry of Dialysis and Transplantation (RIDT) has recently resumed the collection of data of patients on RRT in Italy. Data were requested to Regional Registries for the years 2011-2013 and they contributed according to their possibilities. Eighteen Regions or autonomous Provinces provided data with various degrees of completeness and this made possible to bridge the gap between the current and the previous census (referring to 2010).

Risk of de novo cancers after transplantation: results from a cohort of 7217 kidney transplant recipients, Italy 1997-2009.

To assess incidence and risk factors for de novo cancers (DNCs) after kidney transplant (KT), we carried out a cohort investigation in 15 Italian KT centres. Seven thousand two-hundred seventeen KT recipients (64.2% men), transplanted between 1997 and 2007 and followed-up until 2009, represented the study group.