An unnamed Spanish farmer, who accidently shot himself in the face with a shotgun five years ago, received the world’s first full face transplant in Barcelona. The shotgun blast destroyed the 30-year-old man’s face from his eye sockets downward but miraculously his eyes and vision were not affected. The grueling operation, which took 24 hours [Sign in to read the full article...]

The immunosuppressive drugs taken by kidney transplant recipients to prevent rejection all carry the same risk of developing cancer, according to a new study appearing in the May Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The results suggest that no single immunosuppressive medication is to blame for the higher incidence of cancer seen among patients [Sign in to read the full article...]

A gene-based blood test works as well as a routine biopsy to help heart transplant recipients to avoid serious complications of the transplant surgery, including death, a second transplant or heart-failure symptoms from organ rejections, according to a new study. In the study, researchers reported a simple blood test called AlloMap, created by the molecular [Sign in to read the full article...]

A new technique that uses gene therapy to help repair damaged lungs previously found unfit for transplantation shows promise for addressing the critical shortage of donor organs, according to new research presented recently at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) in Chicago. More than 80% of potential donor lungs cannot be used [Sign in to read the full article...]

The Vatican and the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced they partner to do research into the potential use of adult stem cells in the treatment of intestinal and possibly other diseases, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Vatican will provide the funding for the Italian-American partnership, known as the International Intestinal Stem Cell [Sign in to read the full article...]