DLE 2025 Ethical Consensus
Title: Global Consensus on Emerging Ethical Frontiers in Transplantation: Innovations & Global Collaboration
Date: November 12, 2025
Endorsing Societies
- The Transplantation Society (TTS)
- International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS)
- Society of Pediatric Liver Transplant (SPLIT)
Key Ethical Themes for Discussion
1- Innovation & Emerging Technology in Transplantation
- The emergence of xenotransplantation, organ bioengineering, AI applications in transplantation and machine perfusion raises new ethical & regulatory questions.
- Global ethical principles must guide when/how these technologies are integrated into clinical practice.
- Discussion focus: how transplant professionals ethically incorporate advancements while ensuring equity and accessibility.
2- Ethical Governance of Global Transplant Collaboration
- International paired exchanges, regional organ-sharing networks, and transplantation for refugees pose ethical and logistical challenges.
- The absence of shared frameworks in many contexts creates practical and ethical dilemmas.
- Structured consensus is needed to support transparent, equitable, and regulated international transplant partnerships.
Core Objectives of the Consensus Initiative
- Formulate ethical recommendations for integrating emerging innovations (AI, xenotransplantation, organ bioengineering, machine perfusion) into clinical transplantation.
- Develop best practices and policy guidance for international transplant partnerships.
- Publish consensus papers in a leading transplant journal to guide policy and ethical decision-making.
- Create an action plan for policy development, dissemination, and engagement with societies and regulatory bodies.
Consensus Meeting Structure & Working Groups
We utilize a Hybrid Consensus Model (Danish Model) incorporating:
- Pre-Meeting Delphi-Based Expert Input (to define key issues).
- Structured Working Group Discussions (to refine recommendations).
- Consensus Voting and Policy Formulation (to establish clear guidelines for implementation).
Working Groups
- Working Group 1: Xenotransplantation & Bioengineered Organs
- Working Group 2: Artificial Intelligence & Data-Driven Approaches
- Working Group 3: Machine Perfusion & Organ Preservation
- Working Group 4: Ethical Frameworks for Regulated International Collaboration
Post-Meeting Phase
- Consensus recommendations will be consolidated into a formal document.
- Publication in a leading transplant journal will be pursued.
- A task force will be created to monitor and advocate for policy implementation.
Leadership Structure
- Prof. Alvin E. Roth — Stanford University, USA
- Dr. John Fung — President, TTS; University of Chicago, USA
- Dr. Mark Ghobrial — Past ILTS, Methodist Hospital, Houston, USA
- Dr. Osama A. Gaber — Past President ASTS, Methodist Hospital, Houston, USA
- Dr. Sandy Feng — UCSF; Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Transplantation
- Dr. Valeria Mass — President of ILTS; University of Maryland, USA
Chairs
- Dr. Mohamed Ghaly — Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
- Dr. Medhat Askar — Qatar University; Chair of TTS WHO Committee
- Dr. Ahmed Elsabbagh — University of Pittsburgh, USA (Moderator of Scientific Committee)
Scientific Committee (Alphabetical)
- Dr. Abdul Rahman Hakeem — King’s College Hospital, UK
- Dr. Dieter Broering — KFSHRC, KSA
- Dr. Hermien Hartog — Groningen, the Netherlands
- Dr. Hosam Hamed — Mansoura University, Egypt
- Dr. Manuel Rodriguez-Davalos — Mexico
- Dr. Matthew Liao — NYU, USA
- Dr. Nadey Hakim — King’s College / Dubai, UAE
- Dr. Stefan Tullius — Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard, USA
- Dr. Varia Kirchner — Stanford University, USA
- Dr. Wojciech Polak — Erasmus MC, Netherlands
Jury Panel
Chair:
- John Fung — University of Chicago, USA (President of TTS)
Vice-Chairs:
- Hatem Amer — Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA
- Lloyd Ratner — Columbia University, USA
- Maye Hassaballa — Cairo University, Egypt
Members (alphabetical):
- Dr. Lloyd Ratner — Columbia University, USA
- Dr. Mahmoud Elmeteini — Ain Shams University, Egypt
- Dr. Matthew Cooper — President, Donate Life America
- Dr. Maye Hasaballa — Cairo University, Egypt
- Dr. Mignon McCulloch — University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Dr. Mostafa Elshazly — Cairo University, Egypt
- Dr. Refaat Kamel — Ain Shams University, Egypt
- Dr. Scott Biggins — University of Pittsburgh, USA
Working Group 1: Xenotransplantation & Bioengineered Organs
Co-Chairs
- Prof. S. Matthew Liao — NYU (Center for Bioethics)
- Dr. Jay Fishman — MGH, USA (IXA President Elect)
Scientific Liaison / Editorial Lead
- Dr. Hosam Hamed — Mansoura University, Egypt
Members (alphabetical)
- Dr. Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez — University of Pittsburgh, USA
- Dr. Ali Zarrinpar — University of Florida, USA
- Dr. Daniel Fogal — NYU Center for Bioethics
- Dr. Dimitri Sneiders — Erasmus MC, Netherlands
- Dr. Frank Dor — LUMC, Netherlands
- Dr. Mohammed Yosri — Cairo, Egypt
Working Group 2: Artificial Intelligence & Data-Driven Allocation
- Prof. Hub A.E. Zwart — Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Dr. Dorry Segev — NYU Langone, USA
Scientific Committee Liaison
- Dr. Varia Kirchner — Stanford University, USA
Editorial Co-Leads
- Dr. Eman Mohammed, MD — Pediatric BMT, USA
- Dr. Mohammad Alexanderani, MD — University of Pittsburgh, USA
Members (alphabetical)
- Dr. Daniel Maluf — University of Maryland, USA
- Dr. Karim Soliman — UPMC, USA
- Dr. Michal Mankowski — NYU Langone, USA
- Dr. Mustafa Nazzal — SLU, USA
Working Group 3: Machine Perfusion & Organ Preservation
Co-Chairs
- Dr. Jeffrey Pannekoek — Cleveland Clinic, USA
- Dr. Philipp Dutkowski — University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
Editorial Lead / Scientific Committee Liaison
- Dr. Abdul Rahman Hakeem — King’s College Hospital, UK
Editorial Vice Lead
- Dr. Ahmed Nassar — Henry Ford Hospital, USA
Members (alphabetical)
- Dr. Anji Wall — Baylor University Medical Center, USA
- Dr. Ashraf Abo Elela — Michigan, USA
- Dr. Georgina Morley — Cleveland Clinic, USA
- Dr. Markus Selzner — UHN Toronto, Canada
- Dr. Peter Abt — University of Pennsylvania, USA
- Dr. Raeda Taj — University of Pennsylvania, USA
- Dr. Zhiyong Guo — Sun Yat-sen University, China
Working Group 4: Ethical Frameworks for Regulated International Collaboration
Co-Chairs
- Prof. Alvin Roth — Stanford University, USA
- Dr. Michael Rees — University of Toledo, USA
- Prof. Marleen Eijkholt — Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands
Scientific Committee Liaison / Editorial Lead
- Dr. Ahmed Elsabbagh — University of Pittsburgh, USA<
Members (alphabetical)
- Dr. Ali Obaidli — Department of Health, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Dr. David Thomson — University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Dr. Frederike Ambagtsheer — Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Dr. Gustavo Ferreira — University of São Paulo, Brazil
- Prof. Ignazio Marino — Thomas Jefferson University, Italy/USA
- Dr. Juan Navarro — Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands
- Dr. Lucrezia Furian — University of Padua, Italy
- Dr. Manuel Rodríguez — UNAM, Mexico (President of SPLIT)
- Dr. Mignon McCulloch — University of Cape Town, South Africa
- Dr. Nikolas Stratopoulos — Leiden UMC, Netherlands
- Dr. Vivek Kute — IKDRC-ITS, India
- Dr. Wendy Spearman — University of Cape Town, South Africa