The Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation led by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has partnered with OmniLife to drive innovation around transplant graft selection and acceptance, specifically with the goal of reducing pediatric waitlist mortality.
OmniLife has been leading efforts to improve communication between all partners involved in the organ transplantation process with its novel technology since 2016. Through multiple clinical partnerships and funding awarded from the NIH, the company delivers clinical decision support in the palm of a surgeon’s hand to aid in organ selection for transplant. A clinical feasibility trial involving two centers within the Starzl Network is underway through the end of 2021.
“OmniLife is looking at a problem in the transplant realm that does not currently have a solution,” said Asad Zaman, MHA, Director, UPMC Children’s. “Working on communication during organ acceptance can help a tremendous amount of people. Even improving the process by 10 percent could mean improving hundreds or thousands of lives in addition to what they’re already doing.”
“It is wonderful to work with companies that are aligned with our mission of eliminating child waitlist deaths. Working with OmniLife will help us to push to the next step in accomplishing this goal,” says George Mazariegos, MD, the Chief of Transplantation and Surgery at UPMC Children’s and an affiliated faculty member of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
“We are very excited to be working with UPMC Children’s Hospital and supporting the Starzl Network” said Eric Pahl, PhD, one of the founders of OmniLife. “We pride ourselves on providing industry-leading innovative solutions to the transplantation community, and our partnership with UPMC Children’s, the first pediatric transplant program in the USA and the wider network of top centers in America is a real honor.”
The Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation is a community of the ten best programs in America. The Starzl Network honors the life and legacy of Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD, recognized as the father of transplantation, and carries on his work of discovery and lifesaving innovation. Given its focus on innovation, this partnership grew naturally from the work the two organizations have been collaborating on over the past few years.
Currently the Starzl Network is comprised of Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of California, San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospitals, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Sick Kids (Canada), Columbia University Medical Center, Mount Sinai, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Virginia, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Advent Health.
Illustration: The Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation and OmniLife.
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