Anji Wall M.D.

Polk, H., Johannesson, L., Testa, G. and Wall, A. E. (2022). “The Future of Uterus Transplantation: Cost, Regulations, and Outcomes.” Clin Obstet Gynecol 65(1): 101-107.

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Uterus transplantation (UTx) has evolved rapidly since technical success was first demonstrated, and is now practiced worldwide, using both living and deceased donors. As UTx transitions from an experimental to widely available standard clinical procedure, new challenges and questions are becoming more urgent. These include issues of cost and coverage, the establishment of guidelines and registries to ensure quality of care and monitor outcomes, regulatory oversight (including for the allocation organs from deceased donors), and the extent to which indications for UTx should be expanded.

da Graca, B., Johannesson, L., Testa, G. and Wall, A. E. (2022). “The Ethical Evolution of Uterus Transplantation From Concept to Clinical Procedure.” Clin Obstet Gynecol 65(1): 24-36.

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Uterus transplantation (UTx) offers women with absolute uterine factor infertility a path to motherhood that enables them to carry their own pregnancy. Debates about the ethics of UTx have evolved in tandem with its clinical evolution: clinical trials have provided evidence regarding risks and benefits to donors and recipients that were initially uncertain; technical advances have altered the balance between risks and benefits; and the experiences of donors and recipients has revealed questions that were not anticipated. As UTx transitions to a clinical procedure, questions remain about long-term risks and benefits, applications beyond carrying a pregnancy, and cost and access.

Kling, C. E., Perkins, J. D., Biggins, S. W., Wall, A. E. and Reyes, J. D. (2022). “Building a Utility-based Liver Allocation Model in Preparation for Continuous Distribution.” Transplant Direct 8(2): e1282.

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BACKGROUND: The current model for end-stage liver disease-based liver allocation system in the United States prioritizes sickest patients first at the expense of long-term graft survival. In a continuous distribution model, a measure of posttransplant survival will also be included. We aimed to use mathematical optimization to match donors and recipients based on quality to examine the potential impact of an allocation system designed to maximize long-term graft survival. METHODS: Cox proportional hazard models using organ procurement and transplantation network data from 2008 to 2012 were used to place donors and waitlist candidates into 5 groups of increasing risk for graft loss (1-lowest to 5-highest). A mixed integer programming optimization model was then used to generate allocation rules that maximized graft survival at 5 and 8 y. RESULTS: Allocation based on mathematical optimization improved 5-y survival by 7.5% (78.2% versus 70.7% in historic cohort) avoiding 2271 graft losses, and 8-y survival by 9% (71.8% versus 62.8%) avoiding 2725 graft losses. Long-term graft survival for recipients within a quality group is highly dependent on donor quality. All candidates in groups 1 and 2 and 43% of group 3 were transplanted, whereas none of the candidates in groups 4 and 5 were transplanted. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term graft survival can be improved using a model that allocates livers based on both donor and recipient quality, and the interaction between donor and recipient quality is an important predictor of graft survival. Considerations for incorporation into a continuous distribution model are discussed.

Wall, A. E., Fiedler, A., Karp, S., Shah, A. and Testa, G. (2022). “Applying the ethical framework for donation after circulatory death to thoracic normothermic regional perfusion procedures.” Am J Transplant.

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The novel approach of thoracic normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) for in-situ preservation of organs prior to removal presents a new series of ethical questions about donation after circulatory determination of death (DCD) procedures. This manuscript describes the framework used for the analysis of ethical acceptability of DCD donation and analyzes the specific practice of TA-NRP DCD within that framework to demonstrate that TA-NRP DCD can be performed within the ethical boundaries of DCD donation. We argue that TA-NRP DCD organ procurements meet the ethical standards of informed consent, non-maleficence, adherence to the dead donor rule, and irreversibility, and as such, are ethically acceptable. We also describe the potential benefits of TA-NRP DCD procedures that result from higher organ yields and better recipient outcomes. Finally, we call for open and transparent support of TA-NRP DCD by professional organizations as a necessary cornerstone for the advancement of TA-NRP DCD procedures.

Wall, A.E., Johannesson, L., Sok, M., Warren, A.M., Gordon, E.J. and Testa, G. (2021). “The journey from infertility to uterus transplantation: A qualitative study of the perspectives of participants in the Dallas Uterus Transplant Study.” Bjog Dec 9. [Epub ahead of print].

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OBJECTIVE: To assess how absolute uterine factor infertility affects women who undergo uterus transplantation, how uterus transplantation impacts women with absolute uterine factor infertility and how uterus transplant recipients view uterus transplantation in terms of their reproductive autonomy. DESIGN: Qualitative semi-structured interview study. SETTING: Uterus transplant programme in a large academic medical centre in the USA. POPULATION/SAMPLE: Twenty one uterus transplant recipients. METHODS: A medical chart review was conducted to collect patient demographic information and clinical outcomes. Semi-structured interviews collected information regarding participants’ experience. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The outcomes of interest were participants’ experience of infertility, experience with uterus transplantation and general perceptions of uterus transplantation. RESULTS: Six participants were pregnant (one with a second child), six had experienced early graft failure and removal, five had delivered a healthy baby, and four had a viable graft and were awaiting embryo transfer. The primary themes identified were: the negative impact of absolute uterine factor infertility diagnosis on psychological wellbeing, relationships and female identity; the positive impact of uterus transplantation on healing the emotional scars of absolute uterine factor infertility, female identity and value of research trial participation and the perception of uterus transplantation as an expansion of reproductive autonomy. All participants reported that uterus transplantation was worthwhile, regardless of individual outcome. CONCLUSION: Absolute uterine factor infertility has a negative impact on women from a young age, affects multiple relationships and challenges female identity. Uterus transplantation helps to reverse this impact, transforming women’s life narrative of infertility and enhancing female identity. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Absolute uterine factor infertility (AUFI) adversely affects women. Uterus transplantation helps mitigate the negative impact of AUFI, by transforming women’s life narratives of infertility and enhancing female identity.