E-CLAD UK: Tackling anti-rejection in lung transplant patients (Organ Donation Week, 09/23)

As UKODTRN continues to highlight NHS Blood and Transplant Organ Donation Week, we look at the E-CLAD UK clinical trial. This aims to find out if a therapy called Extracorporeal Photopheresis (ECP) can be used to successfully treat chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) – also called chronic rejection. The clinical trial, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NHIR,) is being undertaken by a team of specialists from all 5 UK adult lung transplant centres. Professor Andrew Fisher, Professor of Respiratory Transplant Medicine at Newcastle University and Honorary Consultant Respiratory and Transplant Physician at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Institute of Transplantation, is leading the trial. He said: “The aim of the E-CLAD UK study is to see if adding a course of ECP to current treatment is more effective at stabilising the function of transplanted lungs compared to standard treatments for CLAD. There is an urgent need for treatments to stop CLAD early to protect lung function, preserve quality of life and hopefully prolong survival in lung transplant patients.” See more here