In 2024, the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation awarded a grant to the American Society of Transplantation (AST) to survey organ transplant recipients about their experiences with current immunosuppressant agents. Insights gained from the survey are being used to inform strategies to improve patient-reported outcomes.
The survey was designed to pinpoint and address unmet patient needs associated with immunosuppressive medications for people who have undergone organ transplantation. Transplant recipients shared their experiences with anti-rejection medications and the study suggests the need for better ways to evaluate and improve transplant medications.
Recently, AST published the results of their survey in the American Journal of Transplantation.
“For decades, our field has made great strides in reducing rejection and sustaining transplants, but the therapies available to patients after transplantation have remained largely the same,” said AST President, Dr. David Foley. “It’s time to look beyond simply keeping an organ functioning and focus on how patients feel and live with these treatments. Thanks to the support of the Fresenius Medical Care Foundation, we’ve been able to identify new directions for research that prioritize quality of life, manage medication side effects more effectively, and ultimately improve long-term outcomes for patients.”
“This is an important study canvassing unmet immunosuppression needs and challenges for organ transplant recipients, from the patients' perspectives,” said Benjamin Hippen, MD, FASN, FAST, Fresenius Medical Care’s Senior Vice President, Global Head of Clinical Affairs and Advisory Committee Member for the Foundation. “This is also a great achievement in service to advancing our understanding of patient reported outcomes from long-term immunosuppression use, conducted in a methodologically rigorous fashion, and published in the highest-impact factor journal in transplantation in the world.”
This research supports the Transplant Fund’s focus of raising awareness of kidney disease and transplantation as a lifesaving solution. The Foundation is transforming the kidney disease community by working in collaboration with leading organizations in kidney disease and transplantation.
This grant and research was made possible by you and other generous donors to Fresenius Medical Care Foundation's Transplant Fund.
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