Understanding, Treating and Monitoring Graft Health
Transplant in Canada
Canada is in a unique position to research and resolve the problem of antibody rejection in transplants, having achieved a major milestone – our national standardization of antibody testing is the envy of the transplant world. Not only has this allowed us to match donor organs to patients that were previously difficult to transplant, this approach is now the foundational element that allows us to define novel strategies to prevent antibodies from being formed or harming transplants in all patients.
The development of antibodies causing rejection is a problem that has vexed clinicians and scientists since the very beginning of transplantation. Now, through the convergence of new genomic technologies, precise antibody testing standardization and our national network of experts that bridges research to clinical needs, we are finally able to implement real solutions. This is an exciting new and hugely important opportunity for our patients and will again reinforce Canada’s important global role at the forefront of transplantation.
Our Goal
The goals of the research program are:
First, to reduce the frequency of AMR by at least 50 percent and to benefit the patient and his or her family through improved survival and quality of life and also to reduced caregiver burden and personal health costs;
Second, to minimize demand on the health-care system by reducing costs through decreasing dialysis and re-transplantation;
Third, to improve societal care of a major chronic disease by increasing productivity and streamlining the management of chronic kidney failure. This program offers the possibility to reduce health care costs by $1 billion over the next 15 years.
Our Goal
The goals of the research program are:
First, to reduce the frequency of AMR by at least 50 percent and to benefit the patient and his or her family through improved survival and quality of life and also to reduced caregiver burden and personal health costs;
Second, to minimize demand on the health-care system by reducing costs through decreasing dialysis and re-transplantation;
Third, to improve societal care of a major chronic disease by increasing productivity and streamlining the management of chronic kidney failure. This program offers the possibility to reduce health care costs by $1 billion over the next 15 years.
Our Story
The team led by Drs. Paul Keown and Stirling Bryan of the University of British Columbia, Ruth Sapir-Pichhadze of McGill University and Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta which includes over 70 scientists and clinicians from 22 universities in Canada, the US, the UK and the EU will use genomic technologies to reduce the risk of AMR.
These will enable better matching of patients and donors, precise monitoring of the immune response after transplantation to better predict AMR, and the use of personalized drug treatments to prevent rejection while avoiding infection or cancer. The team will also engage patients, providers and health care payers to study the legal, ethical, societal and economic considerations of introducing these strategies into clinical practice.
Our Aim
To advance the outcomes of transplantation for patients by developing multidisciplinary approaches to understanding, treating and monitoring graft health.
