Dear Colleagues

It is with great pleasure and honor that I succeed Dr. Leo Buhler in his post of IXA President. Over the past two years, Dr. Buhler has uniquely contributed to the development of the International Xenotransplantation Association (IXA) and its Journal. On behalf of the Association, I wish to thank Dr. Buhler for his strong leadership. I look forward to continue the advancement of our society over the next two years.

Last October, the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich hosted the 15th International Xenotransplantation Association Congress. The Congress was an outstanding success, both scientifically and socially. Thank you to Congress Chairs Eckhard Wolf and Bruno Reichart for developing a rich and forward-looking scientific program in a relaxing and historical atmosphere. The numerous scientific highlights of the meeting were summarized by Peter Cowan in the closing session and in the IXA Newsletter. This year’s meeting illustrated that the pace of progress in our field has accelerated over the last few years and that the timeline for clinical application is shortening.

After the Munich meeting the IXA Council met to discuss the state and direction of the association. The discussion was largely inspired and driven by the results of the recent member survey. I am very happy to report that the IXA Council has taken resolutions to create several new initiatives:

1. The Young Investigator Committee (formerly called Vanguard Committee) will provide new mentorship opportunities for trainees.
2. In an effort to further improve IXA communications, webinars and podcasts on Xenotransplantation will be developed and the website will be updated.
3. Options were discussed to improve the visibility of the journal.
4. A Young Investigators Endowment Research Fund (YIER) will be created to support the education, research and mentorship of the next generation of professionals in Xenotransplantation. The funds raised will support a variety of initiatives, such as travel awards and laboratory exchange programs to broaden the research experience of scholars. This fund will rely on your generous donations. Additional awards and fund-raising initiatives were discussed.
5. While guidelines for heart, lung, islet and cornea xenotransplantation have been previously established and published, there is a paucity of information to guide kidney and liver clinical applications. The IXA Council will address this need in consultation with experts, by working towards the publication of guidelines for kidney xenotransplantation and xenogeneic liver as a bridge therapy. The IXA remains closely linked to the World Health Organization to review and develop guidelines and support Xenotransplantation across the globe.
6. The Public Perception of Xenotransplantation was selected as one of the society’s priorities, and the IXA Council will actively work toward fostering the education of, and dialogue with, health professionals as well as the general public, in various countries.

These initiatives will rely on the dedicated and hard work of our vibrant IXA Council members. We will share further updates on the progress of these and other activities with you throughout the year.

Importantly, the realization of these goals relies in part on your contributions. I thank you for participating in our membership survey and providing useful and relevant comments and suggestions. I would like to encourage your continued contribution of ideas and suggestions to improve our society.

With my best wishes,

Agnes Azimzadeh
IXA President