SOUTHERN AFRICAN TRANSPLANTATION SOCIETY

Newsletter August 2006

To all members of the society 

SATS Congress 2005
The congress of the Society at the Malelane Lodge proved to be extremely successful, both from the academic perspective, as well as on the social side.

The organizers, Dr Russell Britz and Prof JR Botha, are congratulated and thanked for their efforts. Thank you also to the considerable generosity from our partners in the trade. 

AGM
The AGM of the Transplantation Society was held on 30 August 2005, and was attended by 35 members. New executive committee members committee were elected

President: Dr Elmin Steyn

Secretary / Treasurer: Sr Fiona McCurdie

Johannesburg: Dr Russell Britz, Dr D Hahn, Prof G Pitcher, Dr G Paget

Pretoria: Prof O Karusseit, Sr L Vorster

UCT: Prof D Kahn, Prof J Brink, Prof M McCulloch

Cape Town Private: Sr A Michaelides, Dr D Miller

Stellenbosch: Prof R Moosa

Bloemfontein: Dr Viljoen, Dr Botha

MEDUNSA: Prof C Modiba, Sr  Ndlovu

Durban: Prof A Assounga, Dr N Madala

Durban private: Dr I Naiker

The incoming president made a commitment to the members of the society to focus on the 3 areas that posed the greatest challenges to transplantation in SA today, i.e. the shortage of donors, the lack of a comprehensive national transplant data base, and the disharmony within our fraternity. Projects to address these issues are under way.

Exco members are requested to assume responsibility for communication with members in their region, as well as generating new members.  Volunteers are required to develop the following portfolios: Website, Scholarship program, Registry, Accreditation program. The constitution makes provision for additional members to be co-opted to participate in special projects or subcommittees.  Please contact the president or secretary with suggestions.

The membership list is currently incomplete, and for this reason, it is very unlikely that this newsletter will reach all the role players. It is of vital importance that the membership is broadened and that email addresses specifically should be updated. All the current members are urgently requested to make the membership application forms available to all the colleagues in their departments or regions, who may not be on the membership list.

                                            Membership Subs 2006
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Donor Procurement Courses:
The first Donor Procurement Course initiated by SATS was organized on behalf of the Society by Alexia Michaelides, Jurina Kotze and Fiona McCurdie. It was held at Houw Hoek Hotel, near Cape Town, in May 2006. The course was funded jointly by SATS and the ODF of SA. The 3-day practical course was attended by 52 nursing sisters and 4 doctors from regional hospitals in the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape, and was exceptionally well received. The procurement skills gained by the participants, have subsequently led to significantly more donor referrals within the region. The next SATS Donor Procurement Course will be held in Gauteng. Arrangements will be announced shortly. 

SA Transplant Registry
A software development project is under way to create a transplant registry that will enable individual Transplant Units to develop a database of cases and to facilitate the generation of survival statistics and outcomes based audit information. Transplant Society members’ input will be required soon. 

Controversies Symposium
A symposium dedicated purely to the discussion of the (non academic) current controversies and challenges facing transplantation in South Africa will be held at the Arabella Hotel and Spa (near Kleinmond / Hermanus) on the weekend of 20 – 22 October 2006. Sandoz have come on board and will provide extremely generous sponsorship. The paid up members of the Society will be eligible for sponsorship to attend.
The Symposium will create opportunity for focused debate, based on factual data from all role players, to tackle the thorny issues that plague us. In the light of current media scrutiny of our practice and ethics, it is imperative that as many members as possible should attend, and that all regions and specialties should be represented. Issues for discussion will include the implications of the moratorium on referral of potential tissue donors, organ sharing systems, collaborative national research projects, status of Dept of Health Guidelines, improving public perceptions on donation and transplantation, accreditation of Units, etc. 

Please note that only members who have paid their R100 membership fee for 2006 and who have provided us with updated contact details on or before the 31 August 2006 will be eligible for sponsorship. New members are welcome to join now. See membership forms included. 

Please contact us with suggestions and ideas. 

We urge you to make this newsletter and membership form available to all your colleagues involved in the treatment of transplant patients. 

Yours sincerely
 

Elmin Steyn                                                       Fiona McCurdie
President                                                         Secretary / Treasurer
esteyn@mweb.co.za                                         fmccurdie@pgwc.gov.za
083 303 5326                                                     082 929 6248
021 422 1232 (w)                                               021 488 2349 (fax)
021 422 1262 (fax)

  August 2006 Newsletter
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