Renal transplant remains superior to chronic renal dialysis. Organ availability is the largest hurdle to transplant for thousands of individuals per year. A device which safely removes anti-A and anti-B antibodies may significantly increase organ availability by reducing or eliminating ABO matching requirements. There are no FDA-approved devices which achieve this goal. The investigator has demonstrated the feasibility of a prototype device which removes anti-A and anti-B antibodies from whole human blood during a Phase I trial. The device is simple, biocompatible, and generates reproducible results. This Phase II research is designed to produce a device to remove anti-A and anti-B antibodies in vivo with the safety profile acceptably similar to routine devices. A successful collaboration with the McGowan Center for Artificial Organ Development at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center was instrumental in the successful completion of Phase I of this project. This collaborative effort will be expanded during the proposed Phase II. Additional collaborations, crucial to the successful completion of this project, are with Bend Research Inc. (membrane and advance separations sciences), and Source Pharmaceuticals (synthesis of blood group antigens).
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| Hout, Mariah S; Federspiel, William J (2003) Mathematical and experimental analyses of antibody transport in hollow-fiber-based specific antibody filters. Biotechnol Prog 19:1553-61 |
