American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)

The national living donor assistance center (nldac) was established through a federal government grant to reduce the financial disincentives to living organ donation and help low- and moderate-income people on the waitlist get a Transplant. Asts is a sub-contractor, with funds in 2022 coming from the university of Kansas medical center and arbor research collaborative for health. Asts administers the day-to-day operations of the program. In 2022, nldac processed 2073 applications for assistance and disbursed over $5.5 million in reimbursements of donors' travel, lost wages, and dependent care expenses.

Advocacy & patient care, organizational excellence and research: asts advances the mission through the work of the council, 28 committees, 3 task forces and 2 strike forces. The work of these groups in conjunction with the organization's strategic goals include activities such as the development of position statements, publications in peer-reviewed journals and efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion within the Society. The organization also commits significant resources each year to support member research and advance the field.

Training & certification, and lifelong learning: the Society organizes and hosts a wide variety of meetings designed to support its mission and advance the field of organ transplantation. There were 5 such meetings in 2022 ranging from 40 attendees to over 3000. Four of these meetings provided continuing medical education credits. In total, over 3500 Transplant professionals participated in asts sponsored conferences in 2022. Due to the pandemic, the annual winter symposium was held in august 2022 as opposed to january, which is the typical cycle. Asts also offers training tools and opportunities for new and established Surgeons. Additionally, asts officially launched a certification program for Surgeons through the Transplant accreditation & certification, llc.