ILTS, the International Liver Transplantation Society, with the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT), the European Liver and Intestine Transplantation Association (ELITA), and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), are combining forces to address the important topic of how liver transplant patients are affected by the pandemic.

To this end, a survey launched in September 2020 has been sent to more than 470 transplant centers to analyze regional practices. Responses have been collected already from across Europe, Australia, Asia and South America. Once processed, the results of this survey will be disseminated, including in a peer-reviewed publication and a multi-society, open-access webinar.

Transplant centers are encouraged to take part in this survey before December 4, 2020. You may find the links and the estimated time to complete the 4 different modules of the survey below:

Part 1: Processes (30 min)

Part 2: Therapy (5 min)

Part 3: Living donors (5 min)

Part 4: Procurement of organs (5 min)

Transplant centers approached may respond to the survey anonymously, indicating only their geographical location. Those centers which provide their names will be formally thanked upon the conclusion of the assessment.

“COVID-19 has caused setbacks in services in all areas of health care. Transplant patient haves been hard hit, as some transplantation centers slowed down or even closed their services during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. Many questions remain. We need thorough research to better understand the consequences of the pandemic for the transplant population and to explore how to mitigate these setbacks and best serve the transplant patient community,” said Prof. Thomas Berg, EASL Vice-Secretary General and Head of the Division of Hepatology, Department of Medicine II, Leipzig University Medical Center, Germany.

This three-way collaboration was launched in July 2020 with an hour-long, open-access webinar: “Liver transplantation and COVID-19: a joint ESOT-ELITA, ILTS, and EASL project”. In this webinar, speakers discussed the effects of the pandemic on liver transplantation in Europe and in the United States as well as the response of medical societies to date, regarding education.

Watch the ESOT-ELITA, ILTS, and EASL launch webinar, July 2020

Related links

Read about the EASL-ESCMID Position Papers

Read the Digital ILC 2020 press release: During COVID-19, patients with liver conditions and facing liver transplantation require targeted and sustained support

Read these open-access journal articles:

• “Epidemiological pattern, incidence and outcomes of COVID-19 in liver transplant patients“, by Colmenero J, Rodríguez-Perálvarez M, Salcedo M, et al, published 1 August 2020 in the Journal of Hepatology. 
• “Outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection in liver transplant recipients: an international registry study”, by Webb GJ, Marjot T, Cook JA, et al, published  28 August 2020 in The Lancet: Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
• “Impact of COVID-19 on liver transplantation in Europe: alert from an early survey of European Liver and Intestine Transplantation Association and European Liver Transplant Registry”, by Polak WG, Fondevila C, Karam V, et al, published 1 July 2020 in Transplant International.

Find out more about the ILTS, ESOT-ELITA, and EASL joint collaboration