Category : News & Events

On Monday, September 16th, 2019 the UHN Centre for Living Organ Donation hosted their first annual Living Organ Donation Symposium. The focus of the event was on equity and access to living organ donation and featured a wide range of speakers and attendees representing healthcare, transplant, and community organizations. During the event, attendees were engaged in learning about living kidney and liver donation and the benefits or living donor transplant from Dr. Sunita Singh and Dr. Mark Cattral. The Symposium […]

On Sunday, September 8th, 2019, the Kidney Health Education and Research Group held a collaborative event at the Al Falah Islamic Center in Oakville, alongside the presence of the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Trillium Gift of Life Network regarding Organ Donation and Transplantation in Islam.  The event began with Imam/Doctor Nazir Khan educating attendees on the permissibility of organ donation through an Islamic lens. He also explained Sharia law (Islamic laws) to dismantle common misbeliefs Muslims have regarding […]

In a JASN analysis of 2015–2019 transplant registry data on the use of kidneys from US donors infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), researchers found that there has been a substantial increase in the number of transplants using HCV-infected kidneys. There also has been a change in the use of HCV-infected kidneys: until September 2018, most HCV-infected kidneys were transplanted into patients with pre-existing HCV, but since then, the majority of HCV-infected kidneys were transplanted into patients without the infection. The investigators also […]

On August 7th, 2019, the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians hosted their 8th annual Health Equity Summit and brought together stakeholders from government, hospitals, and the nonprofit sector to address health inequities affecting the South Asian and other racialized communities in the GTA. The aim of this year’s Summit was to gather community input on a health equity strategy from these communities by exploring key issues affecting the community and discussing ways to engage the current government through research […]

The Kidney Health Education and Research Group ventured to Scarborough during the week of July 29th to distribute our community survey at Carefirst Seniors & Community Health Services. Our team was grateful for the opportunity to meet the Carefirst community and talk with clients about our work. We were glad to see that many individuals were excited to contribute to our research study on Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation. By completing our survey on knowledge and attitudes towards kidney […]

Patient-centred care integrates patients’ perspectives into assessment and treatment planning. Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are essential to patient-centred care since they collect information directly from patients about their perspective on their health and treatment. Tools such as the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) have been developed and validated in different patient populations to assess for relevant domains in patients with chronic illnesses. Validated clinical assessment tools such as PROMIS will promote patient centered care and satisfaction as patient’s […]

Although solid-organ transplantation is a life-saving treatment, almost half of recipients experience symptoms of fatigue, pain, anxiety, or depression after the transplant. Current post-transplant care does not include screening for these symptoms which may go undetected and can even lead to hospitalization. Better addressing these symptoms can improve patients’ quality of life and health.   Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) are questionnaires that can be used to detect these emotional and physical symptoms. When PROMs are completed electronically by patients, […]

We will be joining he Centre for Living Organ Donation at UHN Transplant for its first Annual Living Donation Symposium on September 16, 2019, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the BMO Education and Conference Centre, Toronto Western Hospital. In its first year, it will focus on the theme of Access and Equity in Living Organ Donation and Transplantation. In exploring these issues, the Centre will facilitate discussions among transplant experts, diverse community leaders, researchers and students. In addition to presentations on […]

On Monday, July 15th, the KHERG team attended the DADOS User Group Meeting to meet current and prospective DADOS users and learn about new DADOS features. DADOS is an web-based application that is used in our research to electronically collect and manage data on patient outcomes. Dr. Istvan Mucsi presented on how our team uses the DADOS platform to administer and validate a Patient-Reported Outcome measurement tool (PROMIS) using computer adaptive testing for transplant patients and recipients. This system allows […]