ISHLT2026: Industry Symposia - Wednesday

Natera

Measuring What Matters: Use of dd-cfDNA to Move Past Biopsy in Heart Transplant Care

Primary Core Therapy: Heart | Primary Practice Area: Cardiology

Is biopsy still the gold standard—or just the old standard? Despite decades of reliance on endomyocardial biopsy, histopathologic grading often falls short of predicting what matters most: graft function, survival, and quality of life. As our understanding of allograft injury evolves, it's time to ask whether we're measuring what truly counts. This symposium will explore how emerging molecular technologies are transforming rejection surveillance in heart transplantation. Experts will review the growing evidence that donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) and molecular diagnostics such as the Molecular Microscope® Diagnostic System (MMDx) can provide a clearer, more objective window into graft health than histology alone. We'll examine how molecular tools complement, or challenge, histology-based paradigms, offering insights that correlate more closely with clinical outcomes. The focus: integrating these molecular approaches into real-world practice to advance precision, consistency, and patient-centered care in post-transplant management. Join us to envision the next chapter in heart transplant surveillance.

Moderator

Palak Shah, MD, MS, FACC, FHFSA, FAHA Inova, Falls Church, VA USA

Speakers

Philip Halloran, MD, PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada
2TA validation data, dd-cfDNA in ACR1R on EMB and MMDx, and dd-cfDNA in early AMR on EMB and MMDx

Palak Shah, MD, MS, FACC, FHFSA, FAHA Inova, Falls Church, VA USA
Review of DEFINE study data pertinent to the discussion of dd-cfDNA and outcomes

Gregory Lewis, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA USA
MGH clinical experience, ProTECT data, physician questionnaire

Paragonix Technologies

A Higher Standard: Modern Innovations Elevating Lung Preservation

Primary Core Therapy: Lung | Primary Practice Area: Cardiothoracic Surgery

This session brings together leading experts to examine current trends in advanced lung preservation and transplantation, highlighting groundbreaking techniques designed to enhance organ viability and improve patient outcomes. Attendees will receive a comprehensive overview of the latest findings from the GUARDIAN-Lung Registry, paired with real-world case studies demonstrating innovative applications of Paragonix Advanced Lung Preservation technology and services.

Moderator

Mary Jacoski, Paragonix Technologies, Boston, MA USA

Program

The Science of Temperature-Controlled Lung Preservation

Ramiro Fernandez II, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX USA

Overcoming Logistical Challenges with Precision Lung Preservation

Eugene Golts, MD, UC San Diego Health, San Diego, CA USA

Innovation at the Intersection of Lung Procurement and Preservation

Asishana Osho, MD, Massachusetts General Brigham, Boston, MA USA

SANOFI

Evolving Technologies for Early CLAD Diagnosis

Primary Core Therapy: Lung | Primary Practice Area: Lung Transplantation

This session compares European and North American practices in functional lung MRI and CT for early CLAD assessment. It reviews the current evidence for donor-derived cell-free DNA and complementary biomarkers, highlighting clinical strengths and limitations. The session also explores how advanced imaging and biomarkers can be integrated with pulmonary function testing to support earlier detection and longitudinal monitoring of CLAD.

Moderator

Michael McInnis, MD, FRCPC (CA), University Health Network (UHN) / University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada

Program

Introduction

Michael McInnis, MD, FRCPC (CA), University Health Network (UHN) / University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada

Advances in CT for the Detection of Early CLAD

Michael McInnis, MD, FRCPC (CA), University Health Network (UHN) / University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
Provides evidence-based insights into emerging support for CT in early CLAD assessment, highlights challenges related to availability, workflow, and diagnostic relevance, and clarifies the role of CT beyond conventional spirometry and lung function studies.

Functional MRI in CLAD Detection - Emerging Evidence and Practice

Jens Vogel-Claussen, MD, PhD, Hannover Medical School / German Center for Lung Research, Hannover, Germany
Highlights recent insights into functional MRI modalities for CLAD detection, clarifies regional differences in availability, workflow, and diagnostic interpretation, and outlines the potential role of MRI beyond current standard approaches to early CLAD detection.

Emerging Biomarkers for Early CLAD Detection and Diagnosis

Berta Saez-Gimenez, MD, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
Provides an overview of key biomarkers, including cfDNA, and their diagnostic relevance in early CLAD, discusses practical considerations such as baselines, variability, and discordant results, and supports clinicians in integrating biomarkers into current clinical workflows.

Moderated Panel Discussion with Q&A

Thermo Fisher Scientific

MMDx™ Heart & Lung: Real-World Insights from Molecular Assessment in Transplantation

Primary Core Therapy: Heart | Primary Practice Area: Research & Immunology

MMDx™ is designed to complement allograft histopathology through advanced molecular phenotyping, helping provide an objective, genome-wide assessment of rejection and injury in transplant organs. By providing additional, objective data, MMDx may support diagnostic confidence and clinical decision-making. Join us for an engaging expert discussion on MMDx-Heart and MMDx-Lung. This symposium will present preliminary findings from the MMDx Heart–Clinical Assessment Registry (M-CARE), share real-world insights into the use of MMDx-Lung with transbronchial biopsies, and explore how third bronchial mucosal biopsies (3BMBs) may help to further advance lung allograft surveillance.

Moderator

Richard Knight, MD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, West Hills, CA USA

Speakers

Introduction

Richard Knight, MD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, West Hills, CA USA

Ashrith Guha, MD, MPH, FACC, Houston Methodist, Houston, TX USA
Harish Seethamraju, MD, Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
Chang Li, MD, Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
Patrick Gauthier, PhD, Transcriptome Sciences Inc., Edmonton, AB Canada

Moderated Q&A

Conclusion

Richard Knight, MD, Thermo Fisher Scientific, West Hills, CA USA

XVIVO

From NRP to EVLP - Multimodal Strategies to Expand Lung Utilization and Improve Outcomes

Primary Core Therapy: Lung | Primary Practice Area: Cardiothoracic SUrgery

Lungs from DCD donors remain underutilized despite their potential to expand the donor pool and reduce waitlist mortality. Key barriers include uncertainty around organ quality, outcomes, and logistics. Integrating objective assessment tools such as NRP, lung weight stratification and EVLP reduces uncertainty, strengthens clinical decision-making, expands lung utilization and improves patient outcomes.

Join us as leading experts discuss the impact of Normothermic Regional Perfusion (NRP) on donor lungs, and how Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) and lung-weight stratification can be used as objective tools to assess graft quality and predict the risk of Primary Graft Dysfunction (PGD). Through real world clinical experience, speakers will share how these approaches are applied across both DBD and DCD donation, along with new insights from XVIVO’s All Comers EVLP Registry.

Moderator

Marie Budev, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH USA
Matthew Hartwig, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC USA

Program

NRP in Lung Procurement: Understanding Risk and the Role of EVLP in Graft Assessment

Niels van der Kaaij, MD, PhD, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Fifteen Years of EVLP: Leveraging EVLP in DCD and DBD Donation to Improve Lung Utilization and Patient Survival, Insights from 300+ EVLP Cases

Edouard Sage, MD, PhD, Foch Hospital, Paris, France

Integrating EVLP to Drive Lung Utilization and Program Growth: Cleveland Clinic’s Real-World Experience, Together with National Insights from 300+ Cases Enrolled in the XVIVO All-Comers EVLP Registry

Kenneth McCurry, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH USA