• European guidelines target the management of highly sensitized kidney transplant patients (patients with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies)
• These guidelines provide a new clinical practice tool for healthcare professionals to help achieve the best possible outcomes for highly sensitized kidney patients 
• Hansa Biopharma sponsors desensitization workstream as part of ESOT’s educational programs, via an educational grant

Lund, Sweden August 10, 2022. Hansa Biopharma AB, “Hansa” (Nasdaq Stockholm: HNSA), pioneer in enzyme technology for rare immunological conditions, today welcomes the publication in Transplant International, the official journal of ESOT, of ESOT’s guidelines for desensitization treatment of highly sensitized kidney transplant patients.¹

These European guidelines for the management of highly sensitized kidney transplant patients are the result of an expert working group, led by Professor Nizam Mamode M.D. Professor of Transplant Surgery, previously at Guys and St Thomas Hospital, London, and supported by other leading experts in the transplantation field. Although kidney transplantation rates have increased in many countries in recent years, highly sensitized patients typically spend significantly longer time waiting for a transplant or may never receive one. ESOT has established a track record in creating extensive educational- and training programs on the most novel and burning topics in the field, promoting changes in European policy, and is committed to improving transplant patient outcomes.

“These guidelines represent the first International consensus on a management pathway for highly sensitized patients and articulates the variability in definitions, approaches, outcomes as well as the perceived success of HLA-related transplantations,” says Luciano Potena, President of ESOT. “These guidelines are part of ESOT’s educational transplant learning journey (TLJ) 2.0 series and are aimed at healthcare professionals who are faced with a patient with HLA antibodies or donor-specific antibodies (DSAs), in order to provide methodically solid, consensus-based guidance documents on clinical practice to improve care and achieve a successful transplant. We also hope that these guidelines can help improve access to lifesaving kidney transplants for highly sensitized patients.”

Highly sensitized patients can be described as the most immunologically complex patients on the transplant waiting lists. Due to the development of HLA antibodies (HLA sensitization), triggered by pregnancy, transfusions or previous transplants, these patients are difficult to match with a compatible deceased donor and, consequently, may end up waiting indefinitely on the transplant list without access to a kidney transplantation.²

Since 2020, Hansa has been a proud sponsor of the HLA desensitization workstream as part of ESOT’s educational transplant learning journey (TLJ) 2.0 series, providing an educational grant to facilitate greater awareness amongst physicians of best practice for treating highly sensitized kidney patients.

The paper can be accessed at https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/ti.2022.10511/full and the  supplementary material is available at https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/ti.2022.10511/full#supplementary-material.

References

1. https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/ti.2022.10511/full
2. Schinstock CA, Smith BH, Montgomery RA, Jordan SC, Bentall AJ, Mai M, et al. Managing highly sensitized renal transplant candidates in the era of kidney paired donation and the new kidney allocation system: Is there still a role for desensitization? Clin Transplant. 2019; 33:e13751.