Reserve your place at CAST2025 and benefits from a reduced rate before times runs out
Register Now
Dear Esteemed Colleagues
I am delighted to extend a warm invitation to you for the upcoming 19th Congress of the Asian Society of Transplantation, which will be held in Kuwait on 26-29 November 2025. The congress will be a gathering of leading professionals in the field of organ donation and transplantation from across the Asian region and beyond.
This congress will focus on Asia's challenges and provides a unique platform for sharing knowledge and exchanging idea.
With a diverse range of presentations, debates, panel discussions and workshops, the congress offers valuable insights that will enrich your understanding of the latest developments in the field, and promises to be a stimulating and rewarding experience for all attendees.
We encourage you to mark your calendars for this important event. During this period Kuwait typically experiences nice weather which provides a conducive environment for various social activities to be enjoyed in Kuwait.
We look forward to welcoming you to Kuwait.
Dear Colleagues and Friends
On behalf of Asian Society of Transplantation (AST), it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the 19th Congress of Asian Society of Transplantation (CAST). This is a momentous occasion that marks a significant milestone for our society, to have CAST 2025 being held in the beautiful and vibrant city of Kuwait for the first time.
Kuwait not only leads in organ transplantation within the Gulf but also ranks prominently among Middle Eastern countries. Kuwait had the first live donor kidney transplant performed in February 1979. The first successful pancreas transplant was performed in 2007. Kuwait also started their liver transplant program in 2018. The rich culture and history also make Kuwait be the perfect meeting place of CAST!
As the biannual transplant congress of AST, CAST 2025 will focus on the challenge to develop transplant program in Asia and promote ethical organ donation and transplant practice in the region. CAST 2025 will give regional transplantation professionals a good opportunity to meet transplantation experts from around the world.
In closing, I want to express my deep appreciation to Dr Mustafa and his team to produce the wonderful program of CAST 2025. Together with AST Council, we look forward to meeting you in Kuwait!
GRAND HYATT KUWAIT
360 Mall, 6th Ring Road, Al Zahra, 47451 Kuwait
Tel: +965 2221 1234
Email: Kuwait.grand@hyatt.com
You are only steps away from limitless opportunities with a direct connection to a luxury 360 mall, world-class indoor and outdoor tennis stadiums and a mixed-use Arena.
Below are the links to some of the best Hotels in Kuwait. Kuwait Visa can be arranged by any of the below Hotels. Just Select any Hotel of your choice, make the Online Reservation and send them the Filled Visa Application.
CAST 2025 Program at a Glance is Now Ready
The preliminary Program at a Glance is now available for CAST 2025 delegates to check out! To open it in PDF format, please click on the button below.
INSTAGRAM
Nationals of the some contries can receive the visa on arrival at Kuwait airport, or do not require visa: check here
Nationals of other countries need to contact Congress Secretariat at +965 6508 4326 to process their entry visas. Please send your visa request at least three months before the congress to ensure processing your request. The congress cannot guarantee processing late applicants.
Congress Organizers can provide you with a letter of invitation (for Visa Application) and/or assist any participant to obtain a visa with his embassy in Kuwait, but we are not responsible if the visa was issued late.
Only registered participants can apply for visa through Congress Secretariat.
Payment by Credit card: The following credit cards are accepted: VISA, MasterCard, …
Payment by bank transfer is accepted for group up to the late fee deadline of September 2025.
| Bank transfer | Account name - DESIGN MASTER CO FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT Bank name - Commercial Bank of Kuwait Bank Address - Dhajej, Kuwait Account Number - 9411853014 IBAN - KW45COMB0000519411853100414010 SWIFT code - COMBKWKW |
|
| Charges | Bank transfers must not involve charges for the recipient | |
| Important information | Please indicate your name and surname and CAST 2025 as reference on your payment so that we can identify you for confirmation | |
The invoices and VAT number can only be set up during the registration process. Should you have any special requests for the processing of your invoice, kindly let us know when submitting your application.
Any change or cancellation in connection with registration fees must be made in writing to +965 6508 4326 by E-mail: ataiyeb@design-master.com
If you are unable to attend the Congress because you were denied a Visa to enter the country, you will be granted a refund only if you submit a copy of your visa rejection letter.
Should a delegate not attend the congress, for whatever reasons, no further claims for reimbursement can be made and your visa will be canceled. All delegates are advised to take personal travel insurance.
In the event of serious special or unforeseen circumstances or serious circumstances beyond its control, CAST shall be entitled to cancel or modify the dates of the event. You shall not be entitled to compensation for any costs or damages incurred as a consequence of such a cancellation or change.
CAST will not be liable for any theft or damage to property and/or persons caused on site during the Congress, by any factor whatever, unless there has been a fault, intent or deliberate recklessness on the part of CAST.
CAST shall not be held responsible in the event of poisoning or food intoxication during the Event.
We strongly advise participants to take a personal “Cancel for Any Reason” insurance with an insurance company of their choice.
Hepatopancreaticobiliary and transplant surgeon , Director of intestinal rehabilitation and transplant unit in Shiraz university of medical sciences.
Prof. Dr. Dieter Broering is the Executive Director of the Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) and a Professor of Surgery at Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a role he has held since 2010. He graduated in Medicine from the University of Dusseldorf in 1992, became Board Certified in Surgery in Hamburg in 1997, earned his PhD in Surgery (Habilitation) at the University of Hamburg in 2004, and completed a second PhD in Clinical Hepatology at Semmelweis University, Budapest, in 2006. He was elected Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 2018 and Honorary Fellow of the European Surgical Association in 2024.
As an “isletologist” for the past 30 years, Dr. Balamurugan’s research career has focused on advancing pancreatic islet cell isolation and transplantation for the treatment of type-I diabetes and surgery induced diabetes. He is an international pioneer in islet cell isolation and transplantation and established advanced islet manufacturing protocols for clinical auto-, allo- and xeno-islet transplantations and performed over 2000 human islet isolations, utilizing them for clinical transplantation, and islet biology research initiatives. He has performed more than 1000 porcine islet cell isolations and utilized for various xenotransplantation studies. He has published more than 250 research articles including book chapters and serves on the editorial review boards of several journals. He has been invited nationally and internationally to give numerous presentations on his research studies.
Mohammed Ghaly is professor of Islam and Biomedical Ethics, and Head of the Research Center for Islamic Legislation & Ethics (CILE), College of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. He has a B.A. in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University (Egypt) and an M.A. and PhD in the same specialization from Leiden University (the Netherlands). Between 2007 and 2013, Ghaly was a faculty member at Leiden University. Ghaly is the founding editor-in-chief of the Scopus-indexed Journal of Islamic Ethics (published by Brill). In September 2019, he assumed the role of founding Program Coordinator of the newly established M.A. in Applied Islamic Ethics at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He also served as the Conference Chair of the 17th World Congress of Bioethics (WCB), the first WCB edition to be held in the Arab world and the entire Middle East. Islamic Ethics and its intersection with biomedical sciences and artificial intelligence (AI) represent Ghaly’s main research interests. He is the author of Islam and Disability: Perspectives in Theology and Jurisprudence (Routledge, 2010), and Islamic Ethics and Incidental Findings: Genomic Morality Beyond the Secular Paradigm (Springer-Nature, 2024). He is the editor of the volumes Islamic Perspectives on the Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Imperial College & World Scientific, 2016), Islamic Ethics and the Genome Question (Brill, 2019), and End-of-Life Care, Dying and Death in the Islamic Moral Tradition (Brill, 2022). Ghaly is also the editor of various thematic issues, the single author of more than forty peer-reviewed publications, and an editorial board member of several academic journals. Additionally, Ghaly is the Lead Principal Investigator (LPI) and research consultant on a number of funded research projects, the most recent of which is on “Transforming Islamic Studies in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)”. His publications can be accessed via
Alireza Bagheri MD., PhD, is physician-clinical ethicist. He currently provides clinical ethics consultation for the health authority in Canada.Dr. Bagheri was an assistant professor of medicine and medical ethics, school of medicine, Tehran University of medical Sciences, Iran. He has served as an expert member on government committees on policy issues such as organ transplantation.Dr. Bagheri served as a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (2010-2018), in which he led a working group on Organ, Cells and Tissue Transplantation and Trafficking. He was also a member of the steering committee of the Istanbul Declaration.As a temporary adviser to WHO, he has participated in the efforts to regulate requirements for Xenotransplantation Clinical Trials. Dr. Bagheri served as a member of the ethics committee of MESOT and The Transplantation Society and the board of International Bioethics Association (2008-214). As a palliative care physician, he brings extensive clinical experience to bioethical discussions as well as promoting close attention to the socio-cultural context especially in clinical decision making.Dr. Bagheri co-chaired the Asian Task Force on Organ Trafficking, which resulted, The Asian Task Force Recommendations on the Prohibition, Prevention and Elimination of Organ Trafficking in Asia, in 2008. Dr. Bagheri has published numerous articles and editorials in peer reviewed journals, such as Lancet, Journal of Medicine, Healthcare and Philosophy, Bioethics, Journal of Medical Ethics. He has published six books on different bioethical topics.
Dr. Benita Padilla is a nephrologist at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, the leading transplant center in the Philippines. She has served as president of the Philippine Society of Nephrology. She is a long-term advocate for ethical practices in transplantation and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group. Her current research, teaching and advocacy activities are centered on promoting ethical practices in transplantation, advancing deceased organ donation, improving access to transplantation and ethics education for nephrologists. Her current positions include being co-chair of the Ethics Committee of the Asian Society of Transplantation, head of the Committee on Teaching Ethics and member of the Advocacy Committee of the Philippine Society of Nephrology.
Professor Masri, PhD in Medical Immunopathology;CEO Transmedical For Life, the President of the Mediterranean Transplant Network (MTN), past president of the Middle East Society of Organ Transplantation (MESOT), and the Past President of the Asian Society of Transplantation (AST). Member of the Declaration of Istanbul custodian group (DICG), the International Transplant Society (TTS) ethics committee member. Associate Editor Experimental and Clinical Transplantation, Drug and Therapeutic, I.J. of Enzymology, and China Medical Journal, serving on many editorial boards for international medical journals such as Transplantation Proceedings and was its guest editor for the years 2002, 2003, 2010, and 2013. 1. Recognitions medal of honor Canadian armed forces (medical)2. Lifelong Achievement in Transplantation3. Outstanding Contributions to Research in TransplantationServed as Head of Laboratories at Rizk Hospital (Beirut, Lebanon), Director of Transplant Unit, Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Director, Emirates Institute For Medical Research, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Was a Professor at the Medical School, University of the United Arab Emirates, Al Ain, UAE. Worked as a consultant/Advisor for many international pharmaceutical companies such as Sandoz Pharma (Novartis) Switzerland, for IVAX Corporation USA, for Global Pharmaceuticals (Switzerland), for Roche Pharmaceutical Switzerland, for Exir Pharma Iran, for Sigma pharma, Brazil, Allmed Laboratories Pakistan, Mission Pharmaceutical Pakistan, Medis Pharmaceutical Tunisia and Benta Trading S.A.L Lebanon. Over 100 publications in international journals. Experienced in designing, protocol writing, and performing of clinical trials. Performed as a principal investigator in over 50 clinical trials, many of which are multi-center and multinational.
Dr Juan Pablo Pantoja completed his General Surgery residency in the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico City (1992-1998). He did an Endocrine Surgery Fellowship in the same institution and an Endocrine Fellowship in the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona Spain. He worked as a Staff Surgeon in the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition until joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. His fields of interest are Endocrine, Bariatric and Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery.
Dr. Reem Aalmeer is a consultant transplant infectious disease at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSHRC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established and running Vaccine clinic in solid organ transplant at KFSH & RC. She completed internal medicine residency at KFSHRC and Saudi Board certified in Internal medicine at 2018. She completed internal medicine residency at University of Virginia in Charlottesville, United states of America (USA) and American board certified in Internal medicine at 2020. She then completed infectious disease fellowship at University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, USA at 2022 along with Fellowship in transplant infectious disease from same institute. American board certified in Infectious disease 2022. Her expertise spans various areas of transplant infectious diseases; including preventive measures of infection, emerging infections, and others.
Luis Campos de la Borbolla, MD is a Staff Physician within the Abdominal Transplant Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Digestive Disease Institute.
He was an Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of Kidney Transplantation at the Methodist Hospital University of Tennessee in Memphis USA.
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Campos has specialized in Liver, Pancreas and Kidney transplantation as well as hepatobiliary surgery (non-transplant liver, bile duct and pancreas surgery).
Dr. Valeria Mas is a Professor of Surgery, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, and a cellular and molecular transplant immunologist. She received her master's in science from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, and her PhD from the National University of San Luis. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University and later joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor.
Dr. Mas is the former director and founder of the Transplant Research Institute, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she was appointed as the Endowed Professor of Transplant Research, Professor of Surgery.
Umberto Cillo is Professor of General Surgery from the University of Padova. Presently he is the director at the University of Padova. He was Associate Professor of General Surgery at the University of Padua. His research interests include Hepatobiliary Surgery, Liver Surgery, Liver Cancer Surgery. He is the author of many articles related to transplantation.
Dr. Oriol Bestard is Chief of department of Nephrology and Kidney transplantation at Vall d-Hebron University Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. He leads a Translational Research Laboratory at Vall d`Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). After doing the Nephrology Residency at Bellvitge University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, he did his PhD in Transplant Immunology at Charité University Hospital in Berlin, Germany, and subsequently performed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Multiorgan Transplant Research Laboratory at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), in San Francisco, USA.
FRCSEd, KSB, FACS, MEHS, President of the Kuwait Hernia Society, Director of the Basic Surgical Skills Course, Consultant General Surgery, Mubarak Alkabeer Hospital State of Kuwait
President Elect, Asian Society of Transplantation, Consultant Surgeon and Chairman, Hamed Al-Essa Organ Procurement Center, Ministry of Health, Kuwait
David H. Sachs, M.D. is a Professor of Surgery and Medicine at Columbia University, working in the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology and the Paul S. Russell Professor of Surgery Emeritus, at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Throughout his career, he has worked at the interface between basic science and clinical applications in the field of transplantation. His research achievements include: 1) discovery of Ia (Class II) antigens in 1973; 2) development of monoclonal antibodies to MHC antigens; 3) development of a unique large animal model for transplantation using miniature swine; 4) use of mixed chimerism to induce transplantation tolerance in animal models and most recently in the clinic; and 5) Development and use of genetically modified miniature swine as xenograft organ donors. He has trained over 80 pre- and post-doctoral fellows, has published over 700 research articles and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Jean Borel Prize in Transplantation, the AST Distinguished Achievement Award, the Martin Prize for Excellence in Clinical Research, the Starzl Prize in Surgery and Immunology and the Medawar Prize.
Dr. Ali Alobaidli, MD, MPH, is a transplant nephrologist and an organ donation, public-health, health system Executive. Currently he serves as the Chairman of the National Transplant committee at Ministry of Health and Prevention in the United Arab Emirates. He is the President Elect for the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT) and Councilor for the International Society for Organ Donation Professionals ISODP and Member of the GCC Transplant Committee. He also served as a member of the Steering Committee preparing for the Declaration of Istanbul (2008) since 2007 to combat organ Trafficking and Transplant tourism and recently was part of the working group for Santander Summit work “ Towards Global Convergence in Transplantation: Sufficiency, Transparency and Oversight” which was the resolution adopted by the 77th World Health Assembly WHO (2024). He was a healthcare system executive since 2007 serving as Group CMO and Chief Academic officer untill 2024He received his medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and trained in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Kidney Transplantation at the University of Toronto. He is dual board-certified with additional qualifications including healthcare quality and patient-safety certifications and an MPH from Johns Hopkins and recognition by UNOS as a transplant physician.Dr. Alobaidli received numerous awards over the years including Harvard Medical School’s Tamayoz Award, RSCI Inspiring leaders award and lately the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for distinguished personalities in healthcare.
Dr. Ejaz Ahmed is consultant nephrologist, and professor of nephrology at SIUT Karachi Pakistan. He is a fellow of Royal College of physicians UK. He has vast experience in managing chronic Glomerular diseases. He has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals on various aspects of Renal Transplantation. He is immediate past president of Pakistan society of Nephrology and has served as general secretary of Asian society of transplantation. He is current chair of bye law and membership committee of Asian society of transplantation.
Professor of Medicine and Nephrology Lebanese Faculty of Medical Sciences Director, Renal Transplant Unit Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Nephrology Senior Consultant Clemenceau Medical Center
Professor of Paediatric Hepatology and Directs the Kings Cell therapy unit. He also Head, Department of Paediatric Liver GI - Nutrition and Mowat Labs, King’s College Hospital, London.
Estephan Arredondo, BS, MSc, is a biologist specialized in Organ, Tissue, and Cell Donation from the University of Barcelona. He is the Co-founder and Technical Director of Cytes Biotechnologies, a spin-off company devoted to human tissue procurement, primary cell isolation, and the development of advanced in vitro models for preclinical research.
He currently serves as Chair of the Allied Health Professionals Committee of The Transplantation Society (TTS), where he leads initiatives to foster international collaboration, training, and knowledge exchange among multidisciplinary teams engaged in organ donation and transplantation.
His professional expertise focuses on building sustainable networks for human tissue procurement, with particular emphasis on the isolation and translational use of human liver cells. He has actively contributed to several European and international cooperation projects aimed at strengthening organ and tissue donation systems, with notable engagement in the Black Sea Area and the Middle East.
Prof. Seyed Ali MalekHoseiniDrirector of Solid Organ Transplantation Center - Shiraz, IRAN
Pulmonary and Lung Transplant Consultant, Organ Transplant Centre of Excellence, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaAdjunct Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Dong Van He, Director of Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation.
Zhe Yang, associated professor of surgery, specialized in the filed of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery and liver transplantation. The affiliations are shulan (hangzhou) hospital and the key laboratory of multi-organ transplantation, ministry of public health. Membership of International Liver Transplantation Society, Committee of surgeon association of Zhejiang Province. Up till now，he has participated over 500 cases of liver transplantation, including split liver transplantation, living donor liver transplantation and complicated transplantation surgical innovations. He has joined in the establishment of refined Hangzhou Criteria for HCC recipients selection for liver transplantation and the strategy of prevention and management of HCC recurrence after liver transplantation.
Dr. Talal Turki Al Goufi, MBBS, FRCP(C), is the General Director of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He served as a Deputy Director, Organ Transplant Center of Excellence and Director of Gut and Liver center of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, In addition, Dr. Al Goufi is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada and holds memberships in the Saudi Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition (NASPGHAN), and the International Pediatric Transplant Association. His extensive expertise in pediatric gastroenterology and transplant hepatology has been instrumental in advancing organ transplantation services and enhancing pediatric liver and bowel transplant outcomes in the region.
Dr. Yaxuan Huang is a liver transplantation surgeon in Second Xiangya Hospital in China. She was studying in Defu Zeng’s lab at City of Hope, Duarte, USA. Her scientific major is induction of mixed chimerism and promoting organ transplant tolerance.
Nancy is well-recognized internationally for the advancements of liver transplantation research. Her innovative development and successful application of integrated clinical, translational and basic research for liver graft injury and cancer recurrence after transplantation, has resulted in major advances and impact on transplant oncology and immunology in the world. Her research achievements have been dully recognized by her numerous prestigious international awards, invited plenary and state-of-art lectures in leading congresses of transplantation, leaderships of international academic societies, journal editorship and leading role of international consensus/guideline of transplant oncology and immunology.
Professor Terence Kee is a senior consultant renal physician with interest in kidney, pancreas, and uterus transplantation. He obtained his MBBS at the Flinders University of South Australia in 1994 and by 2000 completed the Singapore General Hospital basic and advanced physician training in general and renal medicine. He subsequently received a Singapore Government Human Manpower Development Program Award in 2004 to undergo a 1-year clinical fellowship in advanced renal transplantation under Professor Jeremy Chapman at the Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia. He returned to SGH in 2005 and became director of the kidney transplant program in 2008 ever since.
Under his leadership, many milestones in kidney transplantation at SGH was achieved such as the first ABO-incompatible kidney transplant, the first dual deceased kidney donor transplant, the first ABO and HLA incompatible kidney transplant, paired kidney donor exchange and kidney transplantation using hepatitis B and human immunodeficiency virus positive kidney donors. New transplantation technologies and treatments were also introduced such as double filtration plasmaphresis, immunoadsorption and novel biologics to prevent and treat rejection of the kidney transplant. Professor Terence Kee also assisted in performing the first ABO-incompatible liver transplantation and assist in an advisory capacity for other transplant programs. Professor Terence Kee has also served in many leadership positions including Associate Program Director of the SingHealth Residency in Internal Medicine, Director of Clinical Service Planning and Special Projects for the Sengkang Hospital Planning Committee, Deputy Director of Research and Education at SingHealth Transplant and Clinical Director of Transplant Centre. He has also served as Chairman of the Chapter of Renal Physicians of Singapore, President of the Society of Transplantation of Singapore, President of the College of Physicians and sit as a council member of the Asian Society of Transplantation and the ASEAN Federation of Internal Medicine. Professor Terence Kee is also an academician, having published over 90 papers, a textbook in nephrology and a history book of the development of nephrology in Singapore.
She is a registered nurse specializing in donor transplant coordination, on-site organ procurement, and the facilitation of international organ exchange. Ms. Zardo completed her nursing specialization at Sapienza University of Rome and went on to earn a Master’s degree in Transplant Coordination from the University of Pisa, further enhancing her expertise in this highly specialized field. Since January 2024, she has been serving as a transplant coordinator at the Italian National Transplant Center, where she oversees donor evaluations, organ procurement, and collaborates with healthcare teams both in Italy and internationally to ensure the highest standards of patient care and operational efficiency."
Dr. Mitesh V. Badiwala, MD, PhD, FRCSC, is a Staff Physician within the Cardiac Surgery Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute.
Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Badiwala was a Staff Cardiovascular Surgeon at Toronto General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He was the Surgical Director of Heart Transplantation and Fellowship Director for Cardiovascular Surgery at the University Health Network in Toronto.
Dr. Badiwala received his medical degree from the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He completed his residency at the University of Toronto. Dr. Badiwala was then honored to receive the Detweiler Travelling Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He travelled to Chicago and completed a fellowship in Advanced Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern University as Chief Fellow, specializing in advanced valve repair, heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.
Dr. Badiwala has completed graduate training in transplantation and vascular biology research at the University of Toronto and holds a PhD in Cardiovascular Science. He has many publications on topics in cardiovascular science and transplantation and has presented both nationally and internationally.
Professor of Nephrology at Iran University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Shokoufeh Savaj is Vice President of the Iranian Society of Nephrology and a past Council Member of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) representing the Middle East. She is currently based at Hashemi Nejad Hospital, where she continues her clinical and academic work in nephrology and transplantation. With more than 25 years of experience, she was instrumental in establishing the dialysis center and kidney transplant program at Firoozgar Hospital and has authored over 40 publications in the field.
Dr. Shiva Kumar serves as Chair of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, UAE. He completed fellowship training in Gastroenterology & Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and a clinical & research fellowship in Hepatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Management from the University of Texas at Dallas Jindal School of Business and previously served as UNOS Primary Physician and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation for almost a decade at high volume transplant centers in the US, including the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Professor Mohammed Al Sebayel is Professor of Surgery and senior consultant Liver Transplantation and Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery from Saudi Arabia. with active clinical and academic contribution for 30 years.
Dr. K. R. Balakrishnan is an eminent Indian cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon known for pioneering advancements in heart and lung transplants, heart failure management, and pediatric cardiac surgery. He has performed a significant number of heart and lung transplants and established India\'s first comprehensive center for heart failure management. Currently, he is the Chairman of Cardiac Sciences and Director of the Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant at MGM Healthcare in Chennai.
She is a registered nurse with a specialized focus on donor transplant coordination, on-site organ procurement, and the facilitation of international organ exchange. She completed her formal nursing specialization at Sapienza University of Rome and earned a Master’s degree in Transplant Coordination from the University of Pisa, further deepening her expertise in the field. Since January 2024, she has been serving as a transplant coordinator at the Italian National Transplant Center, where she contributes to the coordination of transplant activities at a national level. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the organization of donor evaluations, organ procurement, and collaboration with healthcare teams both in Italy and internationally, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and operational efficiency.
Director of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and Director of the Program of Active Cardiac Implant Technologies, Germany
Dr. Saman Nikeghbalian is an attending HPB & Transplant Surgeon. He is a specialist in General Surgery who started the first Pancreas Transplant Program in Iran in 2006, the first successful small bowl transplant in Iran in 2009 and the first Liver Auto Transplant in Iran in Shiraz Transplant Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Dr. Nikeghbalian is the director of Shiraz Transplant Center, Abu-Ali Sina Hospital, Shiraz, Iran from 2017 and the president of Iranian Society for Organ Transplantation (IRSOT) from 2020. He is involved in more than 400 articles.
Dr. Ghazali completed his undergraduate training in medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1984 and subsequently trained in Internal Medicine , Nephrology and Renal Transplantation in Kuala Lumpur and Newcastle Upon Tyne UK. Positions served included Immediate Past President of the Asian Society of Transplantation, Past President of the Malaysian Society of Transplantation and the Malaysian Society of Nephrology. Had also served as the Chairman of the National Renal Registry Malaysia. He currently serves as a Consultant Nephrologist in the National Heart Institute Kuala Lumpur after retiring from public service as the Head of Department of Nephrology in Hospital Kuala Lumpur in 2018.
Sanjay Nagral is a surgeon from Mumbai with practice focused on Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery. Currently, he is Director of the Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, a tertiary care institution in Mumbai. He recently superannuated as Head of the Dept of Surgery at the KB Bhabha General Hospital.
He did his medical studies at the GS Medical College & worked at the KEM Hospital as Associate Professor of Surgery. He did fellowships in HPB surgery & liver transplantation at Kings College Hospital & Royal Free Hospital in London.
He has 120 publications in indexed journals, has edited two surgical textbooks & contributed six textbook chapters. He is the co-chair of the South Asia Editorial Advisory Board of the British Medical Journal
He is the publisher & member of the editorial board of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics & chairperson of the Forum for Medical Ethics. He was nominated to the executive council of the Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group, an international organization working on transplantation ethics & was its co-chair for the years 2021-24. He is also the co-chair of the Ethics Coommittee of the Asian Society of Transplantation.
He writes on issues related to public health and medical ethics and has contributed to the Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Mumbai Mirror, the Hindu. He pens a weekly column called “Second opinion” in the Mumbai Mirror and now the Hindustan Times. He coedited the book “Healers or Predators? Health Care Corruption in India’ published by Oxford University Press in 2018.
She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2013 from the Lebanese American University (LAU). In 2015, she pursued her Postgraduate Year One (PGY-1) Pharmacy Residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts, followed by a Postgraduate Year Two (PGY-2) Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Residency at the same institution.
She is both a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and a Board-Certified Transplant Pharmacotherapy Specialist. Since May 2017, she has been serving as a Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacotherapy Specialist at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, where she pioneered the first pharmacy-led transplant clinic in the region in June 2019.
Mr. S.S. Jayasooriya is the Assistant Manager and Senior Tissue Bank Technologist at the Sri Lanka Human Tissue Bank. With more than 10 years of experience in the field of tissue banking, he has received specialized training in gamma irradiation and musculoskeletal tissue processing.
He holds a BSc Degree in Bioscience from the Overseas Campus of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, as well as a Diploma in Tissue Banking and Advanced Therapies from DTI, Spain. In addition, he serves on the Board of Management of the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society.
I am a renal and cardiovascular pathologist with an interest in leadership and the use of artificial intelligence in medicine. My focus is on advancing diagnostic pathology and exploring how AI-driven innovations can transform healthcare and improve patient outcomes.
Dr. Abdulaziz Ali Karam : an Associate Professor of Surgery at Kuwait University and consultant surgeon at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital and Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital . He completed his surgical training in Canada, including general surgery residency, a fellowship in minimally invasive foregut and abdominal wall surgery, and a bariatric and metabolic surgery fellowship. He holds both the American Board of Surgery and the Canadian Board of Surgery certifications. His clinical and research interests focus on advanced minimally invasive surgery, bariatric and metabolic surgery, abdominal wall reconstruction, and surgical education.
Dr. Saja Surour is a Kidney transplant consultant surgeon, and the Head of Organ Transplant Department at Jaber Al-Ahmed Hospital, ministry of health, Kuwait since 2022. She started her clinical career after being qualified from the Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain in 2006. After she finished the post graduate Kuwaiti board in general surgery in 2014, she joined the organ transplant department at Hamid AlEssa Center in Kuwait in 2016. She was trained at Royal free hospital-London, UK on kidney transplant and vascular access surgery in 2019 and now completing her felloweship on kidney transplant at Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Her Main interest is kidney transplantation and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy surgeries with active involvement on program leadership. She is a board member of both the Kuwait organ transplant association and the women surgeons of Kuwait association.
Professor Reza Motallebzadeh is Head of Centre for Transplantation in the UCL Department of Kidney & Bladder Health, and Deputy Head, Centre for Surgical Innovation, Organ Repair and Transplantation, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, UCL, UK. He is Consultant Renal Transplant surgeon at Royal Free Hospital London, UK.
Professor Refaat Kamel M.B.B.Ch, F.R.C.S, F.I.C.S., M.D., Hon EBTPresidency of International SocietiesP President of the Middle East Society of Organ Transplant 2016 -2018 (MESOT)Presidency of Egyptian Societies• President of the Egyptian Society of Organ Transplantation• President of the Egyptian Section of The International College of Surgeons (ICS)• President and Co-founder of the Egyptian French Medical Association (EFMA)• Council Member of LDLT Study Group (S. Korea)Honorary Fellowships • Honorary Fellow of the European Board of Transplantation: October 2011Education and Qualifications • Fellow of the International College of Surgeons in Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgery since November 1991.• Fellow of the International College of Surgeons since 1991• Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, May 1991• MD surgery, November 1991, Ain Shams University. Academic and Clinical Positions :• P Chair of Surgical Departments Ain Shams University • P Head of Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgery Department, Ain Shams University • Director of the National Liver Transplant program• Chief liver transplant surgeon in three leading liver transplant programs in Egypt since 2001 with an overall experience of more than 1500 cases of Living Donor Liver TransplantsInternational Journals• Reviewer in the transplantation proceedings Journal• Associate Editor in the Experimental and clinical Transplantation Journal• Editor in International SurgeryFurther Positions and Training• Egypt representative in the Mediterranean Transplant Network 2006-2010• Board member for establishing the organ donation law in 2010 in the Parliament• Head of the communication committee in the supreme Egyptian council of organ transplantation (2006-2010)• TTS councilor 2008-2010• Member of the Istanbul Declaration on organ trafficking and Transplant tourism and member of the custodian group.• Dr Kamel has published more than 150 papers in local and International Journals as well as sharing in few international books on LDLT• Dr Kamel graduated from Ain Shams University and did his residency both in ASU hospitals and Kings College Hospital- London.
Dr. Reem Al Maghrabi is a consultant and section head in Transplant Infectious Diseases, Deputy to the Executive Director at the Organ Transplant Center of Excellence, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She is also the chairperson of the national donor safety committee in the Saudi Center of Organ Transplant.
Graduated from King Abdulaziz University Jeddah, holds American Board certification in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. She completed her subspecialty training in Transplant Infectious Diseases at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests focus on gram-negative resistance and donor-derived infections. She has made significant contributions to the field, with over 60 peer-reviewed publications.
T. B. Prabath Naveendra serves as the Manager of the Sri Lanka Human Tissue Bank. He holds a Diploma in Tissue Banking from the National University of Singapore and brings over 32 years of expertise in radiation and tissue banking. His international training includes IAEA Fellowships in Advanced Tissue Banking at Queensland, Australia, and in Radiotherapy in Wales, UK, as well as training in Tissue Banking and Advanced Therapies at the University of Barcelona. Mr. Naveendra contributes significantly to strengthening radiation sterilization and advancing tissue banking practices in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Pratik Das is a distinguished nephrologist practicing in Eastern India with a vast experience over 20 years in the field of Nephrology & Transplantation. His areas of specialization in kidney transplantation, including ABO and HLA incompatible renal transplants. He has performed over 4000 kidney transplantation and is a dedicated educator in nephrology and dialysis technician training.
Jamshid Roozbeh is Professor of Internal Medicine and Nephrology at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, where he also serves as Chief of the Nephro-Urology Research Center. He has published extensively in the fields of nephrology, dialysis, and kidney transplantation, and has been a member of the National Nephrology Board of Examiners since 2006. Prof. Roozbeh is the Scientific Secretary of the Iranian Society for Organ Transplantation (IRSOT) and the Co-Editor of the International Journal of Organ Transplantation Medicine (IJOTM). He is also a member of the International Society of Nephrology, the Iranian Society of Nephrology, and the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT).
Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, specializes in the surgical management of heart failure, and is an expert in high-risk and transfusion-free (bloodless) cardiac surgery. He has performed over 1,500 heart transplants and is recognized as the world’s most experienced active heart transplant surgeon. Under his leadership, UChicago Medicine’s heart transplant program achieved status as the world’s premier program with best survival rate and shortest wait times. His team takes on the most difficult cases and Dr. Jeevanandam was one of the physician leaders of the care team that made history in December 2018 after performing two triple-organ transplants within 27 hours, replacing the failing hearts, livers and kidneys of two 29-year-old patients. There have only been 42 such procedures performed in the world, and he has completed the heart transplant operation for all 17 done at UChicago Medicine. He is also a pioneer in the field of mechanical circulatory support (MCS). Throughout his career, Dr. Jeevanandam has participated in the development, regulation and investigation of many of MCS devices. He has performed several first-in-human device operations (NuPulse iVAS, CardioVAD), and has implanted roughly 500 durable LVADs. He has a special interest in treating patients that are traditionally considered inoperable. Dr. Jeevanandam has reconstructed damaged hearts in many patients awaiting transplant, enabling those patients to live with their own hearts. A trailblazer in bloodless cardiac surgery, Dr. Jeevanandam is sought out by patients from all over the world for procedures he performs without blood, including CABG, valve and aortic surgery. He is one of the few surgeons globally to offer patients bloodless heart transplantation and advanced MCS therapy options. Dr. Jeevanandam is extremely proud of the team he has helped build that cares for these highly complex patients and delivers outstanding outcomes for cardiac surgery. Outside of his clinical practice, Dr. Jeevanandam is a highly active researcher, having published over 250 articles in leading journals, which have been cited over 10,000 times. He has participated in countless abstract and presentations at conferences across the globe. Dr. Jeevanandam travels annually to the Middle East and Asia on medical missions, volunteering his time to operate and teach local physicians the most advanced techniques and protocols he has developed over his own career so that the highest quality of care can be brought to patients wherever they reside.
Olivier Thaunat is Professor of Nephrology and Clinical Immunology at the Hospices Civils de Lyon and Claude Bernard University Lyon I.
He received his medical degree with specialization in Nephrology and Clinical Immunology from Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris) in 2004, and in 2008 earned a PhD in Immunology at the same institution for his work on the role of lymphoid neogenesis in chronic graft rejection.
From 2009 to 2011, he carried out postdoctoral research in the Lymphocyte Interaction Laboratory, led by Dr. Facundo Batista, at the London Research Institute (United Kingdom).
Since 2012, he has served as a university hospital physician at the Hospices Civils de Lyon, within the Department of Nephrology, Transplantation and Clinical Immunology at Hôpital Édouard Herriot. He also heads the IMAGINATION research team at the International Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIRI – INSERM U1111), which seeks to advance the understanding of transplant rejection and to design innovative therapeutic strategies.
Professor Thaunat is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and has delivered over 200 invited lectures at international conferences. He currently serves as President of the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT).
Nassim Kamar is a Professor of Nephrology and is the Head of the Department of Nephrology and Organ Transplantation at Toulouse University Hospital, France. He was graduated in 2002. He completed a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Nephrology, La Charité Hospital, Berlin, Germany. Dr. Kamar was awarded his Ph.D. degree in 2006. Currently, he is the President-Elect of the Francophone Society for Transplantation.
Dr. Kamar has published 780 papers in peer-review journals. In 2008, he received an award from la Fondation du Rein. In 2009, he received the Grand Prix de Médecine from the Académie des Sciences Inscriptions, et Belles-lettres de Toulouse. In 2015, he received the Palme de Médecine des CHU.
Professor Nasser Simforoosh, is Founder and Chairman Department of Urology and kidney transplantation at Center of Excellence in Urology in Iran "Shahid Labbafinejad Medical Center". He is currently president of Iranian Kidney Transplantation Society. He was program director of urology training in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran IR Iran for 30 years. He pioneered advanced laparoscopic urology in Iran. Over 10000 laparoscopic procedures are done in his hospital. Also, over 6000 kidney transplantations were performed during 35 years period.
He published highest number of laparoscopic donor nephrectomies from a single center (1510 cases, and over 2700 case is performed until now. His report of randomized clinical trial in donor nephrectomy was award winner in World Endourology Congress (WCE 2004) as "Best Laparoscopic Paper". He has published over 204 scientific articles indexed in PubMed (H-index: 34) and was invited lecturers in 31 international congresses (SIU- WCE- AUA- EAU…) around the world. He has stablished an active urology site “iurtc.org.ir”
He has trained over 200 urology residents now practicing urology in Iran and abroad. He has started first Endourology 2 years Fellowship program in the Middle east, graduating 97 Endourology fellows. He also founded kidney transplantation fellowship, graduating 41 transplant fellows. He has trained several fellows and observers from neighboring countries in laparoscopy and kidney transplantation (Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Tajikestan, Yaman and Nepal). He was member, board of chairman and invited speaker in Endourology Society. He was member of Board of Directors (BOD) of SIU for 3 terms. He has been faculty member in SIU Congresses 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019.
Dr. Nada Alshatti a clinician a with a deep expertise in diagnostic and investigative immunology. She serves as the Head of the Immunology and Transplant Lab at kuwait cancer control center and as the Director of Medical Laboratories at Al-Rashid Allergic Diseases Center. In addition, Dr Nada is the program director of the Diagnostic and Investigative Immunology Program at Kuwait Institute of Medical Specialization and and Elected Board member of Arabian Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics ARSHI contributing to the regional advancement in Immunogenomics and transplantation field.
Dr. MUNA A.RAHMAN S.AL.MASLAMANI is a distinguished healthcare leader, currently serving as CEO and Medical Director of Communicable Disease Center and Hamad General Hospital. With expertise in Transplant Infectious Diseases, she is a Senior Consultant and Assistant Head of Infectious Diseases Division–Medicine Department as well as Infectious Disease Fellowship Program Director. She also holds the position of Acting Chairperson of the Corporate Department of Emergency Medicine at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar.
With a strong academic foundation, Dr. Al Maslamani holds an MSc in Healthcare Management from RCSI, an MBBS degree, an Infectious Disease Diploma from RCSI and an IHI Fellowship. Additionally, she is a Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America (FIDSA) and holds Arab Board Medical Specialization certification in Internal Medicine
Dr. Al Maslamani’s leadership extends beyond clinical practice, she serves as Assistant-Chairperson for Quality and Patient Safety–Medicine, holds academic positions as Adjunct Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) and Clinical Professor in Medicine (Infectious Disease) at Qatar University's College of Medicine. She is also the National Lead for National Programs by Ministry of Public Health such as STI and EMTCT.
Her dedication to improving patient care is evident through her involvement in the Clinical Care Improvement Training Program (CCITP) and the IHI Best Care Always Campaign, which have led to over 55 Quality Improvement Projects. She has over 150 publications, collaborates internationally, and is a sought-after conference speaker.
Dr. Muna Al Maslamani epitomizes the essence of leadership, innovation, and compassion in healthcare, inspiring her peers and colleagues to strive for excellence in patient care and medical research.
Dr. Muhammed Mubarak is Professor and Head of the Department of Histopathology and Head of the Division of Clinical Laboratory Sciences at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Karachi, Pakistan. He has contributed extensively to medical science with more than 350 research papers published in leading international peer-reviewed journals. His scholarly work has focused primarily on renal and transplant pathology, uropathology, and gastrointestinal pathology, areas in which he is widely recognized as a subject expert.
Alongside his academic and clinical responsibilities, Dr. Mubarak plays an active role in medical publishing and peer review. He serves as Editor of the JCPSP Case Reports journal, Associate Editor of the Journal of Nephropathology (Iran), the Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (JCPSP), and JCPSP-PG, as well as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Renal Injury Prevention (Iran). He is also a member of the editorial boards of several local and international journals and regularly reviews manuscripts for high-impact publications.
He is an active member of numerous professional bodies, including the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Pakistan Association of Medical Editors (PAME), Pakistan Association of Pathologists (PAP), Pakistan Society of Histopathology and Cytology, and the Transplant Society of Pakistan (TSP). Internationally, he holds membership in the Renal Pathology Society, the International Society of Nephrology (ISN), The Transplantation Society (TTS), and the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation (MESOT). He also serves as the Country Representative for Pakistan in the European Nephropathology Working Group.
Dr. Mubarak has been a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, where he has delivered invited lectures and presented original research on pathology, renal pathology, and transplantation. He has also organized and conducted numerous workshops on renal pathology across Pakistan, helping to build capacity and expertise in this specialized field. His work has earned him recognition as an academic leader, an influential researcher, and a respected mentor in pathology and clinical laboratory sciences.
Dr. Mohsen Alhashemi is a general, foregut, hernia, and bariatric surgeon with a focus on minimally invasive and laparoscopic surgery. His practice includes the treatment of common and complex hernias, gallbladder disease, and emergency abdominal conditions, as well as complex foregut disorders like acid reflux, hiatal hernias, and gastric cancer. He also specializes in surgical and non-surgical solutions for. His approach focuses on patient-centered care, long-term outcomes, safety, and enhanced recovery.
Dr. AlAwwami is the Director of a leading Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory, supporting multiple transplant programs, including solid organ (kidney, pancreas, heart, lung, liver, small bowel), hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cord blood banking, reference testing, and bone marrow donor registry. With over 30 years of experience in histocompatibility and immunogenetics, Dr. AlAwwami has held roles at directorship, specialist, and technical levels, and has extensive expertise in teaching and training transplant physicians, fellows, and technologists. A seasoned organizer of scientific educational events, Dr. AlAwwami is also a certified inspector for the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Board-certified by the American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ACHI), the American Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology (ABMLI), and the European Board of Transplantation Immunology, Dr. AlAwwami’s interests focus on transplant immunology, histocompatibility testing, and diagnostic immunology.
Dr. Mohammed Saad Alqahtani is a distinguished leader in HepatoPancreato-Biliary (HPB) and Multi-Organ Transplant Surgery. He serves as the Executive Director and a founding member of the Multi-Organ Transplant Center of Excellence at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. He is also the current President of the Pan-Arab Liver Transplantation Society (PALTS).
Dr. Alqahtani is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS). He completed advanced training in General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at McGill University followed by Transplantation and HPB Surgery at the University of Alberta, Canada, a. He also holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
With a surgical portfolio exceeding 2,000 complex HPB and transplant procedures, Dr. Alqahtani has extensive expertise in adult and pediatric liver transplantation, including deceased, living, and split liver grafts, with particular proficiency in microscopic arterial reconstruction.
Prof. Medhat Askar, MD, PhD, MSHPE, FRCPath, F(ACHI), D(ABMLI), HCLD(ABB) is a laboratory medicine physician scientist by training specialized in transplant immunology and cell and gene therapy. He serves as the Clinical Advisor for the Vice President for Medical & Health Sciences and Professor of Immunology at Qatar University’s College of Medicine and leads the Division of Clinical and Transplantation Immunology at Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. He also serves as a Clinical Professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Bryan, TX, and as the Advisor for Clinical Services at The National Marrow Donor Program, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Previously, he directed multiple laboratories at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX, and served as a consultant at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, and the University of Chicago, IL. Currently, Dr. Askar is the Senior Treasurer and Chair of the WHO Committee and a member of the executive committee of The Transplantation Society, Treasurer of TheAssociation of Medical Laboratory Immunologists, a Board Member of the Worldwide Networkfor Blood & Marrow Transplantation and a lifetime Councilor of the International HLA and Immunogenetics Workshop.
Graduated in Medicine by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Medical Residency in Internal Medicine and Nephrology by the Federal University of São Paulo, PhD in Medicine (Nephrology - Kidney Transplantation) by the Federal University of São Paulo, and specialist in Intensive Care Medicine by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Care Medicine, Dr. Mauricio Galvão has been dedicated over 20 years as physician and associate professor to support organ donation and transplantation in Brazil, looking to promote the ethical principles, equity, global access and a sustainable transplant system. As a senior consultant of the DTI Foundation, Barcelona, Spain, he has collaborated with many countries worldwide to overcome the barriers that limit their donation and transplantation systems, besides developing and implementing innovative and accessible international training programs.
Dr. Maggie Ma is the Consultant and Director of Combined Renal Replacement Services, Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital. Her main academic interest is nephrology, particularly in kidney transplantation. Dr Ma has devoted much effort in promote organ donation and improve patient’s access to kidney transplantation. She pioneered the blood group incompatible kidney transplantation in Hong Kong with the first case preformed in April 2017. She also played the key role in first Paired Kidney Donation performed in August 2021. Dr Ma serves as Council Member of Hong Kong Society of Transplantation since 2014. She is the President of HKST in 2021-2023. She was the Congress President of the Congress of Asian Society of Transplantation (CAST) 2023. Dr Ma is currently the President of Asian Society of Transplantation.
Dr. Marti Manyalich, MD, PhD, is a globally recognized specialist with decades of experience in the field of organ, tissue and cell donation for transplantation. In 1991 he founded the Transplant Procurement Management (TPM) program dedicated to empowering health professionals in donation and transplantation worldwide and President of the DTI Foundation (Donation & Transplantation Institute) a non-profit organization based in Barcelona with the aim to raise organ donation in the world to improve society’s quality of life by training health professionals in organ donation & transplantation, trough cooperation projects and consultancy.
Dr Marti Manyalich is also former Assessor on Transplantation at the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, as well as professor of international Master in donation & Transplantation of organ tissues and cells at University of Barcelona. He has written many scientific publications and holds memberships in the most relevant international organizations in this field. As an example, he has been president of ISODP & ETCO, vice president of EATB and TTS European Councillor, honorary member of ESOT, among other positions and recognitions for his outstanding career."
Prof. Od-Erdene is a senior consultant nephrologist at National Kidney transplant team in First central hospital of Mongolia, she has worked since 2014. She has led the development of Mongolian’s deceased organ donation program, which provides equitable access to donation and transplantation for all residents of Mongolia regardless of citizenship or financial status. She has played a leading role in development of Mongolian renal replacement treatment and kidney transplant program, the ethical and legal framework of organ donation and transplantation. Currently, she serves as nephrology of the Mongolian Organ Donation Center. Prof. Od-Erdene is a General sectretary of Mongolian Nephrology Association since 2017 and working active to develope nephrology care in Mongolia. She is a founder and one of a lider of \"Forever beathing heart\" NGO This NGO working since 2014. Main aims to raise awareness of the urgent need to establish deceased organ transplantation programs.Prof. Od-Erdene firmly believes that self-sufficiency in transplantation can only be achieved through international cooperation in developing donation programs, fighting commercialism, and fostering trust within multicultural societies.
Lisa Mumford is Head of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Studies at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), the organisation responsible for managing organ donation and transplantation services across the United Kingdom. Based within NHSBT’s Statistics and Clinical Research Department, Lisa leads a team focused on improving clinical outcomes and service delivery through robust statistical analysis and research.
Since joining NHSBT in 2004, she has specialised in pancreas and kidney transplantation, contributing significantly to the development of evidence-based practices in the UK transplant system. Lisa is a member of the NHSBT Organ Donation and Transplantation Senior Management Team and serves on several high-level advisory groups shaping national policy and strategy.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Sciences and a Master’s degree in Statistics and Management Science, reflecting her strong foundation in quantitative research and healthcare analytics.
Dr. Kyeongman Jeon is currently a Professor of Medicine at the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, South Korea. He obtained the PhD degree from Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in 2011. After completing a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Samsung Medical Center, he joined immediately the hospital as pulmonary intensivist, specializing in intensive care, pulmonary infection, and lung transplantation. He is also heavily involved in educational activities for medical students at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, including clinical clerkships and program development. His clinical and research areas in which he was interested in during his junior period were bacterial pneumonia and non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease under the guidance of his late mentor Professor Won-Jung Koh. Since then, the main fields of his clinical practice and research are intensive care, pulmonary infection, and lung transplantation. Recently, as a faculty member of Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology (SAIHST) at Sungkyunkwan University, he has also been conducting translational research related to sepsis.
She is a Pulmonary Disease Specialist who established the Lung Transplant Program in Iran in 2000. In 2004, she also initiated an organ donation program at one of the major universities in Tehran to increase the rate of organ donations for patients on transplant waiting lists, particularly for lung transplants, which was her primary focus. Through collaboration with her colleagues, they successfully implemented several projects to boost donation rates at the Shahid Beheshti university of Tehran, achieving a family consent rate of 96% and a donation rate of 32.4 per million population in an area with a population of 10 million.
In 2014, she was appointed as the Director of the Organ Donation and Transplantation Office at the Ministry of Health in Iran. Together with her team, she presented various initiatives to the Minister of Health, and with his approval and the backing of the Iranian Supreme Transplant Council, they launched some projects nationwide, resulting in more increase in organ donation rates across the country.
Additionally, she collaborated with top Iranian transplant and cultural experts to establish an NGO called the "Iranian Society of Organ Donation." This organization aims to support the Ministry of Health's Transplant Management Center, focusing on social awareness activities, donor family support, donor team education, research, and other initiatives needed to enhance organ donation and transplantation in Iran.
She has been a member of the ISODP Council and the Transplant Committee of the World Health Organization since 2017 and 2018, respectively. In recognition of her contributions, she received the Unsung Hero Award from WIT at the TTS 2024 conference.
Dr. Joseph Kim is a staff nephrologist in the Division of Nephrology and Director of the Kidney Transplant Program at the Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network. He is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. He is the Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee at the University Health Network, Co-Chair of the Data System Working Group for the Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative at Health Canada, Chair of the Global Data Harmonization Committee for the Transplantation Society, Past-President of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Society of Transplantation, Past-President of the Canadian Organ Replacement Register Board of Directors, and former Vice-Chair of the Data Advisory Committee for the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Dr. Kim completed medical school, internal medicine residency, chief medical residency, and fellowships in nephrology and kidney transplantation at the University of Toronto. In 2008, he earned a PhD in epidemiology and a Master of Health Science in biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2020, he completed a Global Executive MBA for Healthcare and the Life Sciences at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Dr. Kim’s research interests include access to and outcomes of kidney transplantation using centreand population-based cohorts as well as using data more effectively to inform health system improvement. His methodological interests focus on improving causal inferences from observational data.
John J. Fung, M.D., Ph.D. is the Director of the UChicago Medicine Transplantation Institute. Prior to that, he served as Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Health System Center for Transplantation, as well as the former Chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. With 40 years of involvement in abdominal and cellular transplantation, he is also an accomplished immunologist.
Dr. Fung received his B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University in 1975, followed by a Ph.D. in Immunology in 1980 and M.D. in 1982 from the University of Chicago. He completed his surgical residency at the University of Rochester, and a transplant surgery fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, under the guidance of Dr. Thomas Starzl. Between 1987 and 1988, he served as Director of Histocompatibility Testing at the University of Rochester. In 1989, he joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh and held the tenured position as the inaugural Thomas E. Starzl Professor in Surgery. He joined the Cleveland Clinic as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Chairman of the Digestive Disease Institute. He was also Professor of Surgery at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western University. He also served as the Medical Director of Allogen Laboratory, one of the largest histocompatibility laboratories in the United States and oversaw transplantation services at five Cleveland Clinic facilities globally. In 2016, he was recruited to serve as the Director of the inaugural University of Chicago Medicine Transplantation Institute.
Dr. Fung is a member of numerous scientific and surgical societies and served as President of the International Liver Transplantation Society from 1997-1999. He is currently President of the Transplantation Society. He has published over 1,400 articles and book chapters and serves on the editorial board for several medical journals. He is the past Editor-in-Chief for Liver Transplantation, the highest impact factor specialty transplant journal. His principal research interests are in transplantation immunology, immunosuppressive therapies, and liver related immunology. In addition, he has received numerous prestigious lay and professional awards.
Dr. Fung is active in community affairs and has been a member of the Board of Directors at the Americans for Medical Progress and the Nevada Donor Network Organ Procurement Organization, as well as a Trustee for the Thomas Jefferson University. He received an honorable discharge from the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He and his wife, Beth have four children: Justin, Lauren, Brendan and Shannon.
Dr. Liu is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong. His expertise spans the mechanism discovery and novel therapeutics development for graft dysfunction and cancer recurrence in liver transplantation. His research findings have been published in more than 30 journals including Annals of Surgery, Transplantation, Liver Transplantation, and Small. Dr. Liu has received Vanguard Award for Basic Science Research and Young Investigator Awards from International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS), Mentee-Mentor Awards from The Transplantation Society (TTS), Young Investigator Award from the International Digestive Disease Forum, and the Best Abstract Award from the Congress of Asian Society of Transplantation. He also serves as a member of ILTS Vanguard Committee (2021-2024), Basic and Translational Research Committee (2025-2028), TTS Early Career Member Committee, Scientific Committee of the International LDLT registry, Steering Committee of Transplantation Science Symposium of Asia, and Working Group for the first Consensus and Guideline Meeting on Perihilar Cholangiocarcinoma.
He is currently a professor in Division of Nephrology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea. He has served as the chief of kidney transplantation section, Korean Organ Transplantation Registry.
He received M.D. in 1995 and Ph.D. in 2006 at Seoul National University Medical College, Korea. He had resident training and Fellowship at Seoul National University Hospital. He worked as a public health doctor in Korean FDA. He had Fellowship at University of Pennsylvania, USA (2004-2006) and a Visiting Scholar at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, 2010. He had worked as a Professor in Transplantation center, Seoul National University Hospital (2009-2021).
He has participated in kidney transplant patient care as well as transplant immunologic research. His main research interests are regulatory cell therapy for transplantation and immune regulation for ABO-incompatible transplantation and xenotransplantation.
He received Young Investigator Award, the American Society of Transplantation, 2006, New Key Opinion Leader Award, The Transplantation Society, 2008, and Academic Grand Award, the Korean Society for Transplantation, 2022.
Huo Feng, M.D., Professor and Chief Expert of the General Hospital of the Southern Theater Command of PLA, Recipient of the 10th Chinese Medical Doctor Award.
He has been involved in promoting the reform of organ donation and transplantation in China and participated in the top-level design of the national organ donation and transplantation system. He pioneered the use of NRP in China to protect donated organs. He established China's first OPO and developed related systems and standards. He was the first in China to conduct research on ex-situ machine perfusion for donated organ preservation. He pioneered the concept of the "Organ ICU."
Over the past six years, he has authored or served as the corresponding author for 7 expert consensus documents, guidelines, procedures, and standards, and participated in compiling over 30 standards, guidelines, and expert consensus documents in China. He has published more than 30 research papers in China.
Dr. Hui Liu is an Associate Professor in Department of Liver Surgery, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. She received her PhD degree from Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong. Her interests focus on the immune regulations in liver graft injury and tumor recurrence post liver transplantation. Her research work has been published in JHEP Reports, Journal of pathology, Cell Death & Disease, and Transplantation etc. Dr Liu has also obtained various awards, such as twice Young Investigator awards in International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS), Travel Grant award in The Transplantation Society (TTS) and Shanghai High-level Talents.
Hicham is an experienced healthcare professional specializing in critical care and medical education, with a proven track record in hospital practice and the wider healthcare sector. Over the course of his career, he has initiated and contributed to several significant healthcare projects in collaboration with government entities.
He currently serves as the Regional Manager of Organ Donation in Dubai at the UAE National Centre for Regulating Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues, under the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP). In this role, Hicham plays a pivotal part in coordinating organ donation processes and managing logistics across all donor and transplant hospitals in the UAE.
Hicham holds a Master’s Degree in Health Science from the University of Wollongong in Dubai, as well as a Diploma in Donation and Transplantation from Spain.
He is also an active member of several leading international professional bodies, including The Transplantation Society (TTS) Allied Health Professionals Committee (AHP) and the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement (ISODP).
Hala Kfoury Kassouf (MD), Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the American University of Beirut (AUB), is a graduate of the French Faculty of Medicine at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. She holds a fellowship in pathology from the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA) and King Saud University (KSU). She sub-specialized in nephropathology at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, KSU, Riyadh and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA. She is also a member of the European Board of Pathology, and the Renal Pathology Society. Dr. Kassouf is the Chair of the Arab British and the Arab Schools of Pathology and the President of the Lebanese Society of Pathology. Dr. Kassouf is the President-Elect of the International Academy of Pathology- Arab Division for the term 2026-2028. She has more than seventy publications, and her research work focuses on kidney and breast diseases.
Dr. Kassouf graduated from the AUB, in Executive master’s in business administration, in June 2023.
Dr. Ha Phan Hai An is Senior Lecturer at Internal Medicine Department, Division of Nephrology, Hanoi Medical University; Senior Attending consultant Nephrologist and Advisor at Department of Kidney Diseases and Dialysis, Viet Duc University Hospital; Vice-President of the Vietnam Urology-Nephrology Association, and Vice-President of Vietnam Society of Organ Transplantation.
She completed undergraduate medical training as general practitioner in 1987 (excellent grading) and graduate training in Internal Medicine in 1988 at the second State Medical University in Moscow, ex-USSR. She received specialized training in Nephrology in France (1994-1995), Japan (1998), Australia (2001), and the US (2005-2006), and is a fellow of ISN. She has published nearly 80 articles in national and international peer review journals.
She is actively involved in educational and training activities, in promoting the standardization of treatment techniques and kidney patients’ care throughout the country, in national and international clinical scientific research projects, in health promotion for community, and in developing the multi-lateral partnership between institutions.
Professor of Diversity in Public Health and Director of the Institute for Health Research at the University of Bedfordshire, where he also leads the UK Organ Donation & Transplant Research Centre. With a distinguished research career spanning more than 30 years, his work has focused on developing patient-centred care pathways in diabetes, kidney disease, transplantation, and end-of-life care among diverse communities.
He has collaborated internationally with partners across the UK, the European Union, Qatar, Australia, Pakistan, and India. Professor [Last Name] is co-editor of the influential book Public Engagement in Organ Donation and Transplantation (2013), widely regarded as a blueprint for global practice. More recently, in 2023, he co-authored Organ Donation in Islam: The Interplay of Jurisprudence, Ethics, and Society.
His leadership extends beyond academia; he served on the UK Prime Minister’s Organ Donation Taskforce and the UK Donation Ethics Committee, and he is currently Expert Advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ethnicity, Transplantation, and Transfusion.
Germaine Wong is a transplant nephrologist, Director of Western Renal Service at Westmead Hospital, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, NHMRC Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney. She is the current co-Chair of the Women in Transplantation. She has an internationally recognised track record in transplant epidemiology, cancer and transplantation, and social ethics in organ allocation.
Dr. Fatima Alhashimi, Consultant in Surgical Pathology in Urological and Nephropathology, King Hamad University Hospital -Royal Medical Services. Bahrain. She is an assistant professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI-Bahrain). Dr. Alhashimi did her pathology training in London NHS Hospitals, U.K., and her sub-specialty fellowship training in John Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA) and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, U.S.A). She is also a fellow and an examiner with the Royal College of Pathologists, U.K.
Dr. Fatemah Hadi is a senior specialist of cardiology specializing in advanced heart failure, cardiac transplantation, and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). She pursued her adult cardiology fellowship at KKUH in Riyadh (SCHSP) and further specialized in advanced heart failure and cardiac transplant at UBC, Canada.
Dr. Hadi currently leads the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Clinic at the Chest Disease Hospital in Kuwait, overseeing LVAD care, transplant evaluations, and post-transplant follow-up. She also runs a weekly pulmonary hypertension as a part of Pulmonary Vascular Team in CDH. Furthermore, she has a dedicated weekly right heart catheterization list for advanced therapy assessment in advanced heart, lung and liver disease including confirming and hemodynamically classifying pulmonary hypertension.
Dr. Faisal AbaAlkhail is a Consultant Transplant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Medicine at Al Faisal University in Riyadh.
He is the current President of the Saudi Society for the Study of Liver Disease and Transplantation (SASLT) and a regional board member of the Pan Arab Society of Liver Transplantation. He also holds the position of Governor for the American College of Physicians (ACP) Saudi Chapter.
Dr. Abaalkhail is also a member of the Global NASH council (GNC), deputy chairman of the National Fatty Liver Committee at the medical health council (MHC), member in the National Committee of HIV and Viral Hepatitis for Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.
Also, he is member of the Gastroenterology Saudi Board Exam Committee at the Saudi health Council.
Dr. Fadi Hamed, MD, is the medical director of the Lung transplant program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. He is a consultant intensivist and pulmonologist.
Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr.Hamed worked as Associate Staff in the Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, OHIO
Dr. Hamed is a Diplomate in Critical Care Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Internal Medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Hamed earned his medical degree from the University of Jordan in Amman. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, US, where he also served as a Chief Medical Resident for one year on completion of his residency training. He completed his fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, US
Regional Business Manager at XVIVO, overseeing distribution markets across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. With a background as Transplant Coordinator at the University Medical Centre Groningen, he brings extensive expertise in organ allocation, procurement, and machine preservation systems. Passionate about advancing organ transplantation through innovation, training, and international collaboration.
Clinical Specialist at XVIVO
Dr. David Paredes-Zapata, MD, Fellow of the European Board of Surgery (Transplant Coordination) by the UEMS. Specialist in Nephrology, working as Consultant 1 in the Donation and Transplant Coordination Section, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona. Associate Professor, Surgical Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Have been actively related since 2013 with the European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT). During these years, he has been appointed as Chair and Board Member of the European Donation and Transplant Coordination Section of ESOT. Active participant of the ESOT Group for the Transplant Learning Journey (TLJ2021) in Milan about Normothermic Regional Perfusion use on Donation after Circulatory Death.
Active research and work in deceased donation with both type of donors: Donors after brain death (DBD) and donors after circulatory death (DCD). Work related with donor and organ evaluation, donor management, family approach, organ suitability and procurement. Additional research in organ preservation and ischemia reperfusion injury, active member of the group who described the technique of Normothermic Regional Perfusion for organ preservation in DCD cases and expanded criteria donor and organ ex-vivo renal machine preservation.
Also actively related with the Kidney and Liver Transplant Units in the Hospital Clinic living donor program as Donor Advocate and member of the living donor group of the National Transplant Organization (ONT), Spain.
Mr. David Nasralla is the Clinical Lead for the HPB and Liver Transplant service at the Royal Free Hospital, London, having been appointed as a consultant there in 2019. He graduated from Oxford University Medical School in 2005 and completed his surgical training in hospitals across the South of England. He has an international profile in the liver transplant machine perfusion community, having completed seminal research as part of a PhD at the University of Oxford, the results from which were published in the journal Nature. In 2017, he was recognised as a Rising Star by the International Liver Transplantation Society and also awarded the prestigious Medawar Medal by the British Transplantation Society. He has also received many other national and international awards. His work has appeared on the cover of Nature, BBC radio’s Inside Health, and the BBC series Hospital. In addition to his clinical duties, he is the UK Lead for Liver Assessment and Reconditioning Centres (ARCs), aiming to establish the infrastructure for this initiative by 2027.
Dr. Daniel Guerron is a distinguished leader in MIS, hernia and robotic surgery, currently serving as Director of the Comprehensive Hernia and Core Health Center at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and Chairperson of the Emirati General surgery society scientific committee. Recognized with the 2015 Steiger Award for surgical research, he has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and practice guidelines. An international speaker with participation as invited faculty at 50+ international conferences. His career bridges surgical innovation, evidence-based practice, and global education, consistently improving patient outcomes through minimally invasive techniques.
Dr. Curie Ahn, MD, Ph.D., is a nephrologist based in Seoul, Korea. She currently serves as a Councilor of The Transplantation Society and is the Secretary General of the Asian Society of Transplantation. She has previously served as a Councilor with WIT, DICG, WHO Task Force Team, and IXA, and she is presently a member of the ISN-TTS Sister Program.Her main interests in transplantation include enhancing deceased donor organ transplantation in Asia and promoting evidence-based clinical research through organ transplant registries. To increase organ transplantation capacity in Asia, she founded the NGO VitalLink in 2009 and has been actively involved in medical capacity-building programs for living and deceased kidney transplantation in many Asian countries over the past 15 years. As the former Chair of the Korean Society of Transplantation, she founded the international congress, Asian Transplantation Week, to promote organ transplantation in Asia. Additionally, she leads the Raphael Nanum Foundation, an NGO dedicated to medical volunteerism.Dr. Ahn founded the Korean Organ Transplantation Registry (KOTRY) and the Asian Transplantation Registry (ASTREG), online databases for Korea and Asia. As a nephrologist, she established national cohorts for CKD (KNOW-CKD) and ADPKD, and she has been a pioneer in xenotransplantation research in Korea for over 20 years.
Dr. Colin Forman is a consultant transplant surgeon at Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al Sabah Hospital in Kuwait.
He was educated at Cambridge University and University College London. His higher surgical training was in the Royal Free Hospital, the Royal London Hospital and Guy’s Hospital. He holds the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and is accredited as a specialist in vascular and kidney transplant surgery. He has held academic positions at University College London Medical School and has led the both the paediatric vascular service at Great Ormond Street, London and the renal transplant service at the Royal Free Hospital, London.
Graduated in Medicine by the Medical University of Mongolia, she worked as General practioner, Gastro-enterologist at General and subspeciality hospitals in Mongolia. She is involved in liver cancer, organ donation management clinical, educational and research activities since 2009. She attended in postgraduate trainings, fellowship programs in the USA, Singapore, Austria, India, Turkey and Korea.
She joined in Regulatory department of Cells, tissies, organs transplantation in March 2018. Currently works as Senior officer at Regulatory department and responsible continuous education courses coordination about organ, tissues and cells donation and transplantation and projects.
Dr. Bandar M. Al-Judaibi is a Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Liver and Small Bowel Health Centre at King Faisal Special Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A distinguished hepatologist and transplant specialist, he is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Transplant Hepatology, and holds fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Dr. Al-Judaibi has launched several key programs, including Saudi Arabia’s first living donor liver transplant protocol for unresectable colorectal metastasis and KFSH&RC’s Fatty Liver Program. He previously served as Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in the USA, where he led nationally recognized initiatives in transplant oncology. An active leader in transplant policy, he chairs scientific committees for the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation and serves on the UNOS Region 9 Liver Review Board.
With over 65 peer-reviewed publications, his research focuses on optimizing outcomes in viral hepatitis, transplant oncology, and cirrhotic care. Dr. Al-Judaibi earned his MBBS from King Saud University and a Master’s in Health Management from McGill University
Anne Halpin is an HLA Director in the Transplant Laboratory at Alberta Precision Laboratories at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology at the University of Alberta. In October she will begin serving as the President of the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) and has served on numerous ASHI committees. Her research is focused on histocompatibility and ABO-histocompatibility. She is a living kidney donor acts and an advocate for living donation where possible.
Dr. Seyed Amir Hossein Tavakoli earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), followed by a National Board in Psychiatry at Iran University of Medical Sciences. This strong clinical foundation, spanning both medicine and psychiatry, equipped him with a comprehensive perspective on health that integrates both physical and psychological care.
His early career was rooted in psychiatry, where he worked extensively with patients suffering from spinal cord injuries and psychological complications. During this time, he also contributed to research on the mental health of organ donor families and patients awaiting transplantation, bringing attention to the human side of medical innovation.
Dr. Tavakoli joined the Iranian Tissue Bank and Research Center at TUMS as an Assistant Professor. Here, he shifted his focus toward tissue banking, transplantation, and regenerative medicine, coordinating organ donation programs, overseeing tissue processing, and expanding Iran’s capabilities in advanced biomedical technologies.
Building on this expertise, he founded the Iranian Tissue Product Company (Regen Allograft), where he continues to serve as Founder and CEO. Under his leadership, the company has grown well and has become a national leader in allograft-based medical products. His work has resulted in numerous national and international patents, including innovative methods for processing heart valves, fascia lata, tendons, human skin, bone, and etc.
Parallel to his entrepreneurial achievements, Dr. Tavakoli has remained committed to research and academia. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, with contributions spanning tissue engineering, transplantation, regenerative therapies, biomaterial innovation, and transplantation science. His research contributions also extend to the psychological aspects of organ donation programs, where he has worked in collaboration with government bodies such as the Ministry of Health for many years. Through these efforts, he played a bold role in developing Iran’s national success plan for tissue and organ donation. His work connects laboratory innovation with clinical practice, ensuring tangible benefits for patients.
Through his combined roles as physician, scientist, and entrepreneur, Dr. Tavakoli has been instrumental in advancing tissue processing and transplantation science in Iran. His vision now extends beyond national boundaries, aiming to make regenerative medicine and transplantation technologies available worldwide—particularly in developing countries—to help strengthen healthcare systems and improve patient outcomes. He places strong emphasis on translating laboratory discoveries into practical medical solutions, ensuring that innovations directly benefit clinical practice. By encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and international knowledge sharing, Dr. Tavakoli continues to shape the advancement and future direction of transplantation and regenerative medicine.
He was born in 1949 in Boyerahmad, southwestern Iran. After graduation from Tehran and Shiraz Universities of Medical Sciences, He participated from 1990 to 1992 in a fellowship training program in liver transplantation in Pittsburgh, USA, where he had the opportunity to work with a number of eminent scholars like Dr. Thomas Starzl.
Since the beginning of his career, more than three decades ago, his major concern has been to establish the necessary infrastructures for a network in the region for the procurement of organs from brain-dead donors to put an end to organ selling in Iran and open avenues for transplantation of other organs. Currently, he is the director of the largest solid organ transplantation center in the world in Shiraz, southern Iran—the Avicenna Organ Transplantation Institute, the largest charity foundation in the region.
Over the past years, his endeavors have been acknowledged by several national and international bodies. In January 2020, he was awarded the honorary fellowship of the American College of Surgeons. His vision is to promote our transplant center in Shiraz to an internationally recognized university in the forthcoming decade.
Dr. Ala Ali MDFISN, FEBS (Kidney Transplantation), FASN, FACP, FRCPE/LHead of Medical Department, Nephrology and Renal Transplantation Centre, Medical City Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq Consultant Nephrologist and Transplant Physician, and heads the Medical Department at the Nephrology and Renal Transplantation Center, The Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq. He earned his medical degree from Babylon University in 1999, with board certifications in Internal Medicine in 2007 and Adult Nephrology in 2011. He also completed an ERA Fellowship in 2013 at the Royal London Hospital. After completing the ESOT educational pathway, he was certified by the European Board of Transplant Medicine in 2015. He currently serves on The Transplantation Society\'s Education Committee, is Vice President of the Middle East Society of Organ Transplantation, and contributes to the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) online Education team as an ISN Middle East regional board member.
Dr. Ahmed Zidan is a Consultant of HPB and Organ Transplantation Surgery, currently based at the King Fahad Specialist Organ Transplant Center in Saudi Arabia. He holds a Ph.D. in General and HPB Surgery from Assiut University, Egypt (2015), where he also earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees.
Dr. Zidan’s professional career includes extensive international experience, having trained and worked in Germany, India, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia. He has played a pivotal role in advancing minimally invasive techniques, particularly in robotic liver donor hepatectomy, representing a significant breakthrough in living donor liver transplantation.
In addition to his expertise in liver, pancreas, and intestinal transplantation, Dr. Zidan is highly skilled in gastrointestinal (GI) rehabilitation and intestinal transplantation. His innovative work in these areas has helped transform patient outcomes in complex transplant cases.
Dr. Zidan has a strong research background, with numerous publications in prestigious medical journals. His research focuses on liver, pancreas, and intestinal transplantation, organ donation, surgical innovations, and GI rehabilitation.
Dedicated to enhancing the field of HPB surgery and organ transplantation, Dr. Zidan combines a patient-centered approach with cutting-edge surgical techniques, making him a dynamic team member and a leader in the management of challenging transplant cases.
Professor Dr. Ahmed Mostafa is a distinguished medical expert with over two decades of specialized experience in transplant immunopathology. He earned his medical degree from Cairo University, followed by a Ph.D. from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Dr. Mostafa further advanced his expertise through postdoctoral and clinical fellowship training in histocompatibility and Immunogenetics at the University of Calgary. Dr Mostafa is a fellow of the American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ACHI), and also certified by the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI). His prolific research has led to numerous publications in leading medical journals, and he has been honored with several prestigious awards for his contributions to the field. Currently, Dr. Mostafa serves as an Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Medicine and as Clinical Director and Consultant of the HLA Laboratory at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, Canada. Additionally, he is the Provincial Co-Lead for Genomics at the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Dr. Mostafa has mentored over 40 students, fellows, and residents, and has delivered more than 100 international presentations, further solidifying his reputation as a leader in histocompatibility and Immunogenetics.
Dr. Ahmed Harraz is a professor of urology at the Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Egypt. He has a master's degree, a PhD degree from Mansoura University, and he is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS: Urology) and a Fellow of the European Board of Urology (FEBU). He is subspecialized in urologic oncology and renal transplantation. He has over 100 peer-reviewed articles, five book chapters, and serves as a reviewer for many international journals. His H-index is 25. Currently, he works at Jaber Hospital as a consultant transplant surgeon, Sabah Al Ahmad Urology Center, and Farwaniya Hospital as a consultant urologist.
Dr. Mirza Naqi Zafar graduated from the University of London in 1975 and completed a PhD in 1979. Research interests focus on Renal Transplantation, including histocompatibility, immunosuppression, and long-term outcomes of recipients and donors. Under the realm of transplant immunology, his research has been on HLA matching, Antibody-mediated rejection, and HLA-driven immunosuppression. He has authored more than 250 publications and 4 book chapters. He has the honor of authoring a chapter with the late Prof. Paul Terasaki. Currently, he is a member Ethics Committee, Asian Society of Transplantation, Advisor to the Council of The International Society of Organ Donation and Procurement, Secretary General of the Transplantation Society of Pakistan, and a member of the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI). In August 2022, he was invited to give The Transplantation Society (TTS) Masterclass on “HLA matching in living-related transplants. Is it justified?” Recently, in August 2023, He was featured in the Member Spotlight in the ASHI newsletter.
