American Society of Transplant Surgeons

American Society of Transplant Surgeons
Name	American Society of Transplant Surgeons
Abbreviation	ASTS
Formation	1974
Type	Medical professional association
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Region served	United States
Membership	Transplant surgeons, trainees, allied professionals
Leader title	President

American Society of Transplant Surgeons

The American Society of Transplant Surgeons is a professional association for surgical specialists in organ transplantation with ties to major institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Stanford Health Care. Founded amid advances at centers including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the organization connects clinicians and researchers affiliated with programs like Mount Sinai Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Yale New Haven Hospital.

History

The society was established during a period shaped by milestones at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hôpital Necker–Enfants Malades, and pioneers from Harvard Medical School, University of Oxford, University of Toronto, UCSF School of Medicine, and McGill University Health Centre. Early membership overlapped with surgeons and scientists associated with breakthroughs at Groote Schuur Hospital, Christiaan Barnard, Thomas Starzl, Roy Calne, Norman Shumway, Joseph Murray, and centers like King's College Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital. The society's evolution paralleled regulatory and policy shifts influenced by institutions such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, United Network for Organ Sharing, and international bodies including World Health Organization.

Mission and Activities

The society's mission aligns with objectives advanced by American College of Surgeons, American Society of Nephrology, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and Society of Critical Care Medicine to improve outcomes at programs such as Johns Hopkins Hospital Transplant Center, Mayo Clinic Transplant Center, UCLA Health Transplantation and UCSF Transplant Center. Activities include coordinating conferences akin to those hosted at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, publishing content comparable to outlets like The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, JAMA, Annals of Surgery, and Transplantation; and collaborating with registries such as Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises surgeons, trainees, and allied professionals drawn from medical schools and hospitals like Harvard Medical School, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Duke University School of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Governance structures mirror models used by American Medical Association, American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Association of American Physicians, and National Academy of Medicine, with elected officers, committees, and representative councils involving leaders from centers such as Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.

Education, Training, and Certification

The society provides education comparable to programs at American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and collaborates with fellowship programs at UCLA Medical Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, Stanford Medicine, and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. It supports trainees who rotate through institutions like Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Boston Children's Hospital, Nationwide Children's Hospital, and Texas Children's Hospital and aligns curricula with standards from Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons where international exchange occurs.

Research and Clinical Guidelines

The society sponsors research initiatives and consensus documents that reference data repositories and cooperative groups similar to National Institutes of Health, European Society for Organ Transplantation, Transplantation Society, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and registries like Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Guideline development involves multidisciplinary collaboration with stakeholders from American Society of Nephrology, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American Heart Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and academic publishers such as Oxford University Press and Wiley-Blackwell.

Advocacy and Policy

Policy engagement includes advocacy before entities like United Network for Organ Sharing, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Food and Drug Administration, Congress of the United States, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and international partners such as World Health Organization. The society participates in initiatives alongside American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, National Kidney Foundation, American Association of Kidney Patients, and patient groups affiliated with The Transplantation Society to address organ allocation, reimbursement, and public health matters.

Awards and Recognition

The society confers awards and honors comparable to prizes from National Institutes of Health, Lasker Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Royal Society, American College of Surgeons, and prestigious lectureships paralleling those at Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic, Harvard Medical School, Stanford University, and Yale University. Recipients often include clinicians and investigators who have worked at landmark centers such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, and UCSF Medical Center.

Category:Medical associations based in the United States